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STEM Stories: How Mentors Are Changing the Conversation For Young Women (SHARE YOURS)

STEM Stories: How Mentors Are Changing the Conversation For Young Women (SHARE YOUR STORY)

It can be lonely for a woman in the technology field.

At the college level, men earn 82 percent of engineering and computer science degrees. And while women make up 47 percent of the overall workforce, they constitute only 27 percent of the science and engineering workforce. Isolation and lack of mentors often prevent women from pursuing and advancing in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

In The Athena Factor, a 2008 research report by the Harvard Business Review, one-third of women in private-sector science, engineering, and technology jobs said they felt extremely isolated at work. In the same study, 40 percent of technical women reported a lack of role models, while nearly half reported a lack of mentors, and 84 percent reported a lack of sponsors or someone who would help make their accomplishments visible throughout the organization.

Here, we're highlighting some women who are excelling in the technology field and serving as mentors for other young women.

Are you a woman working in a STEM field? Join the conversation. Share your photos and tell us about the women who inspired you.

Stela Stefanova: Leading a Tech Education Powerhouse in Bulgaria

STEM Stories: How Mentors Are Changing the Conversation For Young Women

This post is part of a series sponsored by Cisco and its partners promoting women in STEM. Check out more stories about women in STEM here. Find out even more on HuffPost ImpactX, where people, technology, and social impact converge.

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