International Women in Science Day

February 11 is International Women in Science Day. The day encourages young women around the world interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) subjects and careers to pursue their dreams.

Women have been responsible for several scientific breakthroughs: Marie Curie was the first women to receive a Nobel Prize for her discovery of radium and remains the only person regardless of gender to win the award in two different scientific categories. Dr. Jane Cook Wright was the first African-American woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and was instrumental in chemotherapy research for cancer treatment.

However, despite these and numerous other scientific accomplishments, STEM subjects and industries have traditionally been male dominated and not always welcoming to women. Even today, less than 30% of researchers across the world are women. Roughly the same amount of college students majoring in STEM subjects are women. That number drops even further in areas like natural science and math (5%) and engineering, manufacturing, and construction (8%). Considering that most of today’s students will enter a job market that will require them to have a STEM background, it’s vital to increase these numbers.

The mining industry hasn’t been immune to the discrepancy of women in the workplace. Women were often shunned from working in the industry, some states even passing laws prohibiting them from working on mine sites. Fortunately, tired stereotypes and bad laws have died out and the industry is working on becoming more inclusive. Today, 13% of Nevada mining’s workforce are women, a sign that things have improved over the last few decades. but that there is still more work to be done.

Programs across Nevada are helping address the issue. The University of Nevada, Reno hosts an annual Young Women in Engineering Camp, which introduces middle school-aged girls to different varieties of engineering and gives campers the opportunity to speak with women working directly in engineering, including mining. Soroptimist International of Elko hosts their Dream It, Be It Career Support Day for Girls every spring, where Elko County high school girls meet successful professional women and learn how to pursue their dreams with confidence.

Encourage your daughters, sisters, nieces, and the other young women in your life to pursue their goals. Maybe they’ll discover the next breakthrough in cancer treatment or become a leader in Nevada mining!