Despite significant growth in recent years, women are still a visible minority in STEM fields. Women constitute an estimated 34% of STEM workforce overall, however in more lucrative fields like engineering and computer science, women make up only about 20% of college majors.

WHEREAS the gender gap continues in STEM, that doesn't mean women aren't capable. Far from it. In fact, women have many unique skills that make them clearly positioned to close the talent gap within STEM—not just for other women, but for all STEM workers.

Related: 3 Top Companies' Strategies for Hiring and Retaining Women in STEM

1. Emphasis on cooperation

Like one report from MIT of women in leadership positions, women are generally more collaborative, a trait that makes them well-suited to finding win-win solutions when working with stakeholders, partners, and employees.

This collaborative approach is also needed to close the talent gap within STEM fields. cooperation it's key to developing a more cohesive team where each member works together and supports each other – including compensating for each other's weaknesses and helping each other improve their skills.

By emphasizing collaboration through their leadership style, women in STEM create an environment that will naturally facilitate more learning opportunities as everyone comes together to solve problems.

2. Encouraging innovation with different perspectives

Putting together different perspectives is another important area where women in STEM can help close the talent gap and improve outcomes for their organization as a whole. Research from McKinsey the main points that companies in the highest quartile of female representation on their executive boards were significantly more likely to outperform those with less than 30% female representation.

As research by Harvard Business Review illustratesfirms with women in the C-suite benefit by becoming more open to change by developing a more risk-averse mindset, as well as by shifting their focus from acquisitions to research and development.

The diversity of thought that female leadership brings to STEM firms creates new opportunities for learning and growth within the organization, helping the company develop innovations that improve its team's capabilities while also driving bottom line results.

Related: 10 Women on the Myths of Working in STEM and Tech

3. Shifting the focus from individuals to teams

Closing the talent gap in STEM requires a focus away from individual self-promotion and a greater emphasis on achieving success as a team. However, this mindset is often not present in STEM. The Gotara 2024: Breaking the Myth of the 'Bad Manager' industry report found that, for managers in STEM fields, “increasing my visibility and influence” was the top goal category for technical managers, representing 26% of overall goals.

These types of goals, which included recognition for another promotion, were particularly prominent among middle managers, 32% of whom had a goal that fit this category. On the other hand, objectives that fit within the categories of “driving team performance” and “leading teams effectively” each accounted for only 15% of the managers' total objectives.

An emphasis on individual self-promotion denies opportunities for true leadership. On the other hand, women in STEM and other fields are generally known to be more community-oriented – more focused on raising the performance of the entire team. This shift in mindset creates more opportunities to close the talent gap by putting more emphasis on it the needs of each team member and helping them reach their full potential.

4. Leadership with empathy

of SENSITIVE that women in leadership exhibit is another key trait that can help close the STEM talent gap. As noted in the MIT report cited earlier, teams with female managers typically have higher levels of employee engagement, largely due to the empathy shown by their leaders.

Female managers are more likely to provide emotional support, ensure each employee has a manageable workload that helps maintain work-life balance, and even check on each person's well-being. Such actions help reduce circulation and burn.

While this may not seem to directly affect the talent gapit can have a very real impact. STEM workers who feel supported rather than overwhelmed will have a greater capacity to develop their skills through their work. An improved mental and emotional state creates a better mindset for learning and personal growth.

5. Serving as mentors

or report by Deloitte notes that as digital technology disrupts the workforce, it shortens the lifespan of skills learned by workers in all industries, requiring constant retraining of workers to help them remain employable. When combined with the challenges women face in entering STEM fields in the first place, it makes the value of mentoring abundantly clear.

Female leaderTheir collaborative and empathetic approach makes them well-suited to serve as mentors to other women entering STEM fields. This mentorship can naturally be applied to technical skills, which are becoming increasingly important in a work environment being fundamentally disrupted by AI. However, it can also help close the skills gap in soft skills, helping new hires develop the attributes needed to become effective leaders and communicators.

Related: Why we need more women in STEM and how AI can help us get there

Women can close the gap

While women are historically underrepresented in STEM, this should not remain the norm. Indeed, as women harness their innate strengths and apply them to their work and leadership within STEM, they can ultimately help create a more inclusive and supportive environment that inspires broader cultural change. that helps everyone in these areas improve their skills.