Introduction
Issues of diversity include language barriers, discrimination and prejudice, ethnic divisions into majority and minority, racism, stereotyping,
Effects of issues of diversity on modern culture:
Discrimination and prejudice. This is because men scientists are preferred to women scientists. Male students are considered better students in the STEM field compared to women and such a stereotype has resulted in low women involvement in certain fields.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Those who have adapted to differences in ethnicity have developed a sense of belonging in areas they have settled by acquiring citizenships. This has led to increased diversity in classrooms, enabling the sharing of different ideas. This has also resulted in adoption of newer beliefs regarding women participation in the society.
Influence of aspects of culture on modern society
Biological diversity has resulted in gender-based discrimination in workplaces where women are not considered for permanent employment due to their maternal duties. This discourages female students from taking part in programs that are considered male-dominated.
Positive changes of diversity issues:
Laws have been passed to cater for employment of women without discrimination. Every organization is required to have a given number of women employed to ensure that diversity is achieved. Women should also be represented in the Board of Members. These laws ensure that barriers to women in the workplace are removed and women participation is increased to raise competitiveness and productivity.
Influence of diversity on teachers:
Discrimination- Female teachers teaching math and sciences have been forced to deal with stereotypes that they are not better teachers than their male counterparts.
Impact of issues of diversity and aspects of culture on modern culture
Empowerment of people to defy stereotypes (Belfield). This will ensure that the society at large encourages female students to be outgoing and more involved in male-dominated spheres such as STEM programs.
Aspects of culture have are the causes of issues of diversity as they create the issues such as language barrier, difference in beliefs and religion, discrimination due to gender and social classes
Overcoming issues of diversity.
Benefits:
Overcoming discrimination results in peaceful coexistence in a diverse community
Overcoming entitlement results in equal and fair treatment of people
Challenges:
Adopting a common language results in loss of original languages
2) Lack of female students in the STEM Program
a) Origin of the Issue
It has been observed that not many females are in the STEM field due to lack of female role models in this field
This has resulted in gender imbalance in the STEM field, hence it lacks gender diversity
Young girls are also not encouraged to pursue this field (Huhman, 2012)
The media also promotes stereotypes that programmers are geeks and that women are lawyers and doctors on TV (Huhman, 2012)
Under-representation is also as a result of cultural stereotypes and misconceptions that girls are less competent in math (Anderson, 2016)
b) Women are the target population of this issue as they are not ready to embrace science and technology, thus such fields are considered to be male-dominated. In addition to this, many women feel tied down to cultural norms that define their family roles and household responsibilities, hence are less inclined to be involved in the STEM program since the resulting careers are too demanding.
c) The lack of females in the STEM field provides lack of balance in sociology of diversity as there is no gender balance in this field of education. The issue helps us to understand how gender contributes to sociology of diversity. However, socio-economic status and cultural beliefs also contribute to this deficiency. Exploring the science subjects is expensive and inability to raise the fee required is a contributor of lack of women. Also, certain cultures do not allow women to venture into male-dominated careers and thus do not encourage their girls to take part in the program (Settles, 2014).
d) This issue has resulted in few girls taking part in the STEM program and pursuing other programs that cultural norms dictate for them, such as in the field of social sciences. Most women are also scared of defying social norms for fear of being looked down upon (Settles, 2014)
e) This is issue is not likely to change in the future since many female students opt to study social sciences instead of STEM programs (Anderson, 2016).
3. PLAN
Recommendations
Science teachers should nurture young girls so as to help them gain interest in STEM. Girls who have more women science and math teachers are highly likely to pursue STEM programs (Anderson, 2016)
Organize seminars to talk to women and encourage them to join the STEM field. Mentorship will help encourage students to take part in STEM programs (Anderson, 2016).
Strategies
Organize the SMASH program in all universities and reduce costs to allow for many participants (Stanford University, 2017). This is a summer program that prepares high school students for the STEM program through which they can be motivated to join the program.
Provide beginner courses in university from either of the STEM field to cultivate interest in female students.
Organize camps for female science students where they can meet and discuss ideas while encouraging each other. This promotes unity among girls of different religions and races thereby enhancing diversity
Implementing
Arrange STEM summer camps for female students only
Offer more science-based courses for students to choose from
Providing scholarships to students taking science courses in University
Benefits
Handling more practical work will help girls gain more confidence to pursue these fields (Heggertveit-Aoudia). They familiarize with the work and become attracted to its complexity
Role models encourage other girls to want to pursue the same field so as to be role models to other people
Summer camps provide girls with an opportunity to meet diverse females with the same prospects and thus feel more motivated to study in the STEM program
References
Anderson, J. (2016, May). Gender Diversity among STEM Teachers: How it can Impact Girls. Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (WWEST). Retrieved from https://www.sfu.ca/wwest/WWEST.aspx
Belfield, L. (N.d.). Cultural Diversity: Imagine all the People. Kaplan University. Retrieved from http://www.kaplanuniversity.edu/public-service/articles/cultural-diversity.aspx
Heggertveit-Aoudia, S. (N.d.). Culture, Values and the Impact at Work. Profiles in Diversity Journal. Retrieved from http://www.diversityjournal.com/9823-culture-values-and-the-impact-at-work/
Settles, I. (October, 2014). Women in STEM: Challenges and Determinants of Success and Well-being. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2014/10/women-stem.aspx
Huhman, H. R. (2012, June). STEM Fields and the Gender Gap: Where are the Women? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2012/06/20/stem-fields-and-the-gender-gap-where-are-the-wmen/#2c1519ec41ba
Stanford University. (N.d.). Program for High School Students. Retrieved from https://oso.stanford.edu/programs/audiences/5-high-school-students
