Report summary

Utah has experienced rapid population growth in recent years and the emergence of a technology community known as Silicon Slopes. Combined, those factors have contributed to Salt Lake City becoming the second-best city in the country for professional opportunities in STEM.¹ However, only 3.4% of employed women in Utah work in STEM.² From a lack of female representation to stereotypes and biases, female students are often guided to other careers instead of STEM opportunities. Aptitude-enabled education aims to reverse that trend and expose talented female students to STEM-related careers within the state.

Highlights from this report:

• Insights and analysis of anonymized data from 21,606 female middle and high school students in Utah from the 2022-23 academic year
  
  
• Aptitude and exposure gap data for STEM career fields such as Computers & Technology and Health Science
  
  
• Recommended solutions from YouScience and Women Tech Council to engage female students in STEM and close the exposure gap for these careers

¹ https://www.usu.edu/uwlp/blog/2022/utah-women-and-stem-a-2022-update
² https://www.upr.org/2022-06-01/utah-stem-workforce-grows-yet-women-in-stem-still-lag-behind-men

Female students in Utah have the aptitude for Advanced Manufacturing

Only 30% of the manufacturing workforce are women, but increased exposure can encourage more female students to pursue this pathway.

Female students in Utah have the aptitude for Computers & Technology

More than 377,000 job openings are expected each year on average in Computers & Technology, and women have the aptitude for these high-paying careers.

About YouScience

YouScience^® is the leading technology provider dedicated to solving the skills and exposure gap crisis for students and employers. Its end-to end platform, YouScience^® Brightpath, connects education with career applications designed to help students unlock their potential for future pathways. YouScience leverages proven research, artificial intelligence, and industry input to help individuals identify their aptitudes, validate their skills and knowledge, and get matched with real-world educational and career pathways in high-demand occupations. YouScience is the preferred choice of individuals, parents, educators, and counselors to guide and support educational and career pathways, currently serving more than 9,200 educational institutions and millions of users nationwide.

To learn more about Brightpath, visit www.youscience.com/brightpath

About Women Tech Council

Women Tech Council is a national non-profit organization committed to amplifying the economic impact of women in technology. Through impactful programs that strengthen the talent pipeline from high school to the boardroom, Women Tech Council provides mentoring, visibility, opportunities, and networking to both women and men in technology, with the ambitious goal of achieving a 50/50 gender balance in the tech industry. Our initiatives foster inclusive, high-performance business environments, propelling women into technology careers and expanding the talent pipeline.

To learn more about She Tech and the Women Tech Council, visit: www.shetechexplorer.com