Wearing purple on Pi Day is bringing awareness to the need for more women in STEM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Today women in STEM and their supporters are wearing purple to bring awareness to the need for more females in STEM careers as part of the 8th annual “Dress for STEM” movement.

Dress For STEM is a grassroots movement to raise awareness about the need for more women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. The movement was started 8 years ago by female meteorologists across the country. Now local media, STEM professionals, and anyone who wants to participate in solidarity is encouraged to wear purple as a conversation starter about the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields.

“STEM fields are about problem-solving,” said Dress For STEM organizer Julia Leopold. “When we increase the diversity of our problem-solvers, we open the door to a wider range of more innovative solutions.”

Generally, women make up about 30% of STEM careers. This is true of meteorologists where 29% of broadcast meteorologists are women. Less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. And about 29% of physical scientists and 27% of computer and math scientists are women. When in comes to engineering, the numbers are even smaller - only about 16% are women.

“The hope is that today’s effort will get people talking about the barriers that prevent women from pursuing STEM careers and how to break them down,” continued Leopold. “We also want to shine a spotlight on the women who have done just that, and can be role models for girls interested in pursuing math and science.”

That encouragement is paramount as fewer than 10% of college female freshmen indicate an intention to major in engineering, math, statistics, or computer science. By the time they graduate,

Supporters are encouraged to share photos of their purple attire on social media using the hashtag #DressForSTEM and by tagging @dressforstem on Instagram. Women in STEM can also use the hashtag to share their experiences as a minority in a scientific field.

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