How Entry-Level Recruiters Can Reduce the Gender Gap in STEM

Despite comprising about half of the U.S. workforce, women are vastly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. A report from the American Association of University Women found that women make up only 28% of the workforce in STEM fields, with an even wider gap in occupations related to computers and mathematics (25%), and engineering and architecture (17%). While some progress has been made over the past fifty years, there’s still a long way to go in achieving gender parity in STEM careers. Entry-level recruiters — and the companies they work for — play a pivotal role in recruiting women into STEM and providing opportunities for advancement and success throughout their careers. 

Improving gender diversity in the STEM workforce not only helps individuals, but may also have a positive effect on business outcomes. For example, research from McKinsey shows that more diverse teams have a higher likelihood of financial outperformance compared to less diverse teams. Likewise, a study from the Boston Consulting Group found that diverse leadership teams reported innovation-related revenues that were 19 percentage points higher compared to that of companies with leadership teams that lacked diversity. 

One of the biggest challenges recruiters might face in attracting more female candidates for STEM careers is that they comprise a smaller percentage of STEM graduates than men. While women represent 58% of college degree recipients, they only accounted for a 39% share of STEM degrees. With STEM degrees boasting some of the highest median salaries and lowest unemployment rates, the gender imbalance in STEM fields further exacerbates the gender earnings gap and may make it more challenging for women to find jobs after graduation. That makes it all the more important to adopt a recruitment strategy that will reach more of those women in STEM majors.

To start, recruiters might sponsor or attend industry and recruitment events intended for women in STEM, such as the annual Grace Hopper Celebration and the Society of Women Engineers Conference. Employers may also expand target campuses to include women’s colleges, schools that specialize in STEM education, or schools that graduate higher percentages of women in STEM. Another option is for companies to offer their own virtual recruitment and professional development events that are tailored specifically for women in STEM. It may also be helpful to seek students who might not have declared their major yet and offer opportunities — such as coffee chats through university career centers — to learn more about what it’s like to work in a STEM role or for a STEM-focused company. 

Additionally, working with organizations like RippleMatch can also help recruiters expand their reach beyond the campuses they can visit, or career fairs they can attend, by exposing more female students who expressed an interest in internships or entry-level roles related to STEM to their company. That’s because RippleMatch’s talent pool includes students from more than 1,500 campuses across all 50 states — including students representing more than 170 HBCUs — and automatically educates them about companies’ brands and open roles. Plus, RippleMatch’s analytics allow recruiters to see which of their strategies for creating a more inclusive workforce are working, and what is failing to garner results, providing them with the data to drive change at their organizations. 

Finally, remember that recruiting is only part of the battle. Retention strategies and career development opportunities are also important for keeping women in STEM and ensuring they advance to leadership positions. Companies may consider offering mentorship opportunities, affinity groups, or career development opportunities that enable women to grow professionally at their organization — and which, by extension, recruiters can highlight in recruitment materials.

For more insights on how to reach female entry-level candidates in STEM, view the recording of our webinar, “Closing the Gender Gap: How to Successful Reach and Hire Women in STEM.”