Hello all,
Happy April!
This week I want to highlight again the Women in Academia newsletter and draw your attention to 2 reports in their most recent edition.
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The Gender Gap in STEM Majors is Shrinking at Top Universities and Growing at Other Institutions. This is some good news, although the gender gap persists and still needs our attention. The report makes clear however that even more work is needed to close other gaps...
"Notably, the authors highlight that women of color continue to remain significantly underrepresented in physics, engineering, and computer science, even at institutions where the gender balance is improving. To reverse these negative trends, the authors suggest federal, state, and local programs aimed at improving gender diversity in STEM should allocate more resources to less selective institutions. They also suggest that increasing faculty gender diversity and expanding partnerships between colleges and organizations dedicated to advancing women’s equality could encourage more women to pursue STEM degrees." -
Women Represent Less Than a Quarter of the Global Cybersecurity Workforce. This is bad news, and will have negative impacts on our successful cyber protections for years to come. According to the report:
"This shortfall in cybersecurity professionals could be significantly improved by recruiting new talent and promoting diversity in the field. Although women represent 36 percent of all technology-related roles, they are vastly underrepresented in the cybersecurity workforce, comprising less than a quarter of all professionals in the field. Even in the Americas, where the majority of the world’s cybersecurity vendors are located, women are just 25.4 percent of the overall workforce. In Asia Pacific, Europe, and Africa, women represent 24.8 percent, 22.4 percent, and 13.5 percent of cybersecurity workers, respectively."
Our SUNY colleges and universities have a role to play in maintaining forward advancements in both these areas, and all of us can help by supporting our degree offerings, encouraging promising students to pursue these areas of study, and in making sure that programs and services supporting underrepresented students are maintained.
And of course—many SUNY employees are also SUNY students! If you or a colleague are considering an additional degree or credential...please consider SUNY!!
All the best,
Holly
