White House Targets Toys And Media To Attract More Girls To STEM Careers

Article here. Excerpt:

'It’s an ambitious goal. The White House aims to “break down gender stereotypes in media and toys so that our children can explore, learn and dream without limits,” as stated in a press release earlier today. From retail to media, organizations like Netflix and Discovery Communications are coming on board, pledging to take new action to break down gender stereotyping in toys and media. The audacious aim is to get more girls interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers, and more boys interested in fields like nursing and teaching.

Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of scientific evidence supporting the idea that men are pursuing STEM careers, because they were more likely to play with techie, science-oriented toys when they were young. Instead, there’s evidence that a large part of the gender difference in pursuit of STEM careers boils down to women’s preference for more people-oriented careers. It’s also why women are more likely than men to be nurses or teachers. Some may be surprised to learn that women and men perform equally well in science and math courses through high school, and enroll in high school calculus courses in basically the same numbers. Yet, when it comes time to choose a profession, women tend to choose more people-oriented career paths.'