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Diversity in STE A M www.diversityinsteam.com
Supplier Diversity
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e've all heard how important it is to introduce children to the world of STEM at any early age, but that doesnt mean it has to be boring. Kristel Bell, a busi- nessowner and STEM advocate, discovered two problems as she was comparing boys and girls toys. The girl toys available to Bell as a kid were for playing princess or mommy, not to mention lacking in diversity of skin tones. As an adult, she was surprised to see that girls toys hadnt changed much at all. Boys toys, in contrast, were already teaching critical skills in serious subjects: science, technology, engineering and math. Part of the problem, Bell says, is rooted in the way girls learn how they should behave and look, as well as the job fields that are appropriate to pursue based on their race and gender. Along with toys and media influence, parents can unknowingly contribute to this problem as well. According to a report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Parents tend to expect that boys are more gifted in STEM than girls, even when their achievement levels do not differ objectively, and those beliefs are passed along to their children in both im- plicit and explicit ways. In addition, parents tend to purchase more math and science toys for boys than for girls - one of several parental math-science-promoting behaviors that have been linked to children's involve- ment in those subjects years later. Bell says children internalize from a young age what they are capable of, and the toys they play with drive their understanding. When the toys toddler and preschool girls play with are limited to princesses and glitter, so are their beliefs as to what they can be successful at. This could be why diversity in STEM may still be lacking, with women making up 28 percent of the STEM workforce. For girls and women of color, the STEM barriers run even deeper. The combination of systemic racism and gender barriers are big contributors to the disparity of women
Surprise Powerz:
Combining the Worlds of Toys & STEM
By Kristel Bell
Founder and CEO of Surprise Powerz, Kristel Bell
SURPRISE POWERZ
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