AWIS Washington Wire - February 2010, Issue II

AWIS
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ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Washington Wire
Edited by: Christiana Fogg

February 2010

Issue II

Greetings!

AWIS recently put on three Work-Life Balance workshops in California. Funded by a grant from the Elsevier Foundation workshops were held in Riverside, Thousand Oaks, and La Jolla. Over three days an estimated 120 women in the sciences attended to learn techniques for improving work-life satisfaction.

We're not done yet! AWIS is planning more workshops around the country throughout this year. Texas, keep your eyes out for Cindy Simpson and her team of work-life balancers! You can find more information and events on the AWIS website.

Finding balance,

AWIS Team
_______________
Visit or write us:

AWIS
1442 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

In This Issue

Education

Government

International

Careers

Science and Health

Lifestyle

Chapter News & Events

Opportunities

Education

Contributed by: Erin Rogers

Brief Highlights Racial Differences in STEM Degree Completion Rates
New data from UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) reveal that the overall interest in STEM majors among college students has stayed relatively steady for the past thirty years, but the interest levels among different racial groups have changed dramatically during this time. In 1971, almost 39% White and Asian American students showed an interest in STEM degrees, compared with only 28% of students from an underrepresented racial minority. Today, the percentage of Whites and Asian Americans interested in STEM degrees is almost identical to that of students from underrepresented racial minorities (34.1% and 34.3%, respectively). While these advances in interest parity are promising, data on STEM degree completion rates among students of different racial backgrounds highlight the need for more efforts to reduce racial gaps in STEM education. Among 2004 White and Asian American freshman, four-year STEM degree completion rates were 24.5% and 32.4%, respectively, but these percentages were significantly lower in Latino, Black and Native American freshman (15.9%, 13.2% and 14.0%, respectively).

Closing STEM gaps

Sally Ride Speaks at University of Texas' "Keeping Girls Interested in Science" Lecture
On February 18th, Dr. Sally Ride addressed attendees of a lecture titled "Keeping Girls Interested in Science" hosted by the UTeach program, the College of Natural Sciences, and Women in Science at the University of Texas. Dr. Ride spoke about the importance of continuing to value and teach mathematics, science and technology to elementary school children. She also stressed the importance of giving teachers the knowledge and tools to effectively engage and maintain interest in science among female and underrepresented minority children, who are traditionally more likely to lose interest in science.

Telling girls to aim for the stars