1. CELEBRATING
WOMEN IN SCIENCE
The consequences of girls dropping out of
the scientific pipeline are real. Today, women
make up 49 percent of the workforce but
only 25 percent of the STEM workforce.
Changing stereotypes about girls and women
in STEM is important, and here’s why:
• Science and technology help drive the
economy. To ensure the place of the United
States in international markets and as a
scientific world leader, we must tap all
available resources. If there are 12-year-old
girls with the potential to become scientists
or engineers, we must ensure that they have
opportunities to develop their talents.
• Science improves and grows only through
the contributions of its members. Each
scientist brings a unique perspective to the
field, and each perspective is important. Few
can predict what good idea is going to be the
next great idea or who will come up with it.
Opening the field to as many people as
possible is essential for stem to flourish.
• Our society reaps benefits when its
members are scientifically literate.
Technological, medical, and scientific
advancements are being made rapidly. A
solid foundation in science is vital to
understanding how to incorporate this new
information into our daily lives.
“For what is done or learned by one
class of women becomes, by virtue
of their common womanhood, the
property of all women.”
- Elizabeth Blackwell
According to the National Science
Foundation, nearly half of all PhDs earned
in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math (STEM) fields are earned by women,
up from 10% in 1960. Women now earn
nearly 60 percent of all bachelor’s degrees
in STEM fields. Despite, these gains,
women are still underrepresented in STEM
fields.
The Department of Energy is actively
working to enhance opportunities for
women in STEM fields and to change
stereotypes about girls and women in
these areas. We hope to encourage the
next generation of women in STEM,
following the legacy of the many women
scientists, mathematicians, and engineers
that have paved to way for others to
follow.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
IS EMPOWERING WOMEN IN
SCIENCE

2. THE DEPARTMENT OF
ENERGY IS EMPOWERING
WOMEN IN SCIENCE
In elementary school, about as many girls as boys
have a positive attitude toward science. In a recent
survey, fully 66 percent of fourth-grade girls (and
68 percent of fourth-grade boys) reported that they
“like” science but shortly thereafter, more girls than
boys begin to turn away from science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM). This begins the
“leaking pipeline” that results in significant
underrepresentation of women in many STEM
careers.
A principal reason is cultural stereotypes—
stereotypes that are changing, but not quickly
enough. Girls’ declining interest in STEM often results
from cultural beliefs, images, and practices that
communicate stereotyped messages that these
subjects are more appropriate for boys than for girls.
As a result, girls begin to conclude that stem is not
for them. These beliefs often begin early and influ-
ence choices they make throughout school.
The Department of Energy is working to promote
opportunities for women and girls in STEM fields and
change the stereotypes about girls and women in
STEM. DOE programs aim at a range of grade levels,
from upper elementary to undergraduate. Ultimately,
DOE seeks to inspire in girls and young women the
confidence, enthusiasm, and persistence to continue
pursuing their scientific interests.
Adapted from NSF 06-60, New Formulas for America's Workforce 2: Girls
in Science and Engineering,
MARIA AGNESI
ELIZABETH BLACKWELL
Doctor (1821 – 1910)
Blackwell was the first female
doctor in the United States, the first
woman to graduate from medical
school, and a pioneer in educating
women in medicine.
MARIE CURIE
Mathematician (1718 – 1799)
Agnesi wrote the first mathematics
book introducing integral and
differential calculus; also the first
book on mathematics written by
a woman that still survives. She
was the first woman appointed as a
mathematics professor at a
university.
Chemist (1867-1934)
Curie is famous for her work on
radioactivity. She won the Nobel
prize twice, first in 1903 (jointly
with her husband, and with Henri
Becquerel) for the discovery of
radium and polonium, and again
(by herself) in 1911 for the isola-
tion of pure radium.
DOROTHY CROWFOOT HODGKIN
Chemist (1910 - 1994)
Hodgkin won the Nobel Prize of
1964 in chemistry for her de-
termination by x-ray techniques
of the structure of biologically
important molecules.
Nuclear Physicist (1921 - )
Yallow is an American medical
physicist and a co-winner of the
1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology
or Medicine for her development
of the radioimmunoassay (RIA)
technique.
ROSALYN SUSSMAN YALOW
LINDA B. BUCK
Neurobiologist (1947- )
Buck is a neurobiologist who was
awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine along with
Richard Axel for their work on
olfactory receptors.