#DressForSTEM: Why so many people are wearing purple on Pi Day
Today you're going to see a lot of purple on tv stations like here at NBC4 in honor of the 7th Annual #DressForSTEM.
Dress For STEM is a movement created by a group of female meteorologists in 2016 to encourage girls to pursue their passion for science, show support and raise awareness for the need for more women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
The event coincides with "Pi Day," March 14, which is a day already dedicated to celebrating STEM by paying tribute to the mathematical constant pi. During the event, women in STEM or others participating, are encouraged to wear purple and share facts about women in STEM fields using the #DressForSTEM on social media.
Studies show that middle school the percentage of young girls interested in STEM declines as a result of exposure to inaccurate gender stereotypes.
By the time girls are in college, fewer than 10% of them indicate an intension to major in science, technology, engineering or math.
This translates to an underrepresentation of women in STEM fields in the workforce.
Even though women make up nearly half of the workforce, they only account for about 27% of STEM careers.
While this number is trending upward, and big improvements have been made since 1970 when only 8% were women, this ratio is still very low.
In research for example, less than 30% of the world's researches are women.
In 2017, women only accounted for 29% of physical scientists, 27% of computer & math scientists and 16% of engineers.
On television, only 29% of broadcast meteorologists are female, and only 8% hold the top role of chief.
And it's not just local news where women are underrepresented. Men outpace women in on-screen STEM roles 7:1.
Whether you are a scientist helping to mentor the next generation of female scientists, or joining in solidarity, Dress For STEM is all about encouraging and inspiring girls.
Some ways that you can do that are through providing or being role models, generating excitement, providing hands-on experience, providing encouragement and a "growth mindset."
An easy way to do that today is to wear purple, then post a picture a picture on social media using #DressForSTEM.