The next generation of Long Beach women in STEM

STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – account for some of the fastest-growing and most lucrative jobs. But those jobs remain stubbornly male-dominated. A mythology surrounds this discrepancy: girls and women excel at English and social sciences, while boys are traditionally better at math and science. A study released earlier this year – surveying 1.5 million high school students worldwide – found that girls are outperforming boys in science and math. Still, it can take a long time for culture to catch up to reality. "Women are often still encouraged to pick 'caring' careers like nursing, and boys are pushed to become scientists and doctors." Read about groups working to close the STEM gender gap, and hear from Long Beach GEMS (girls in engineering, math, and science) about their career goals, on Voicewaves.