The Future Is Female: Preparing Today’s Undergraduate Women to Be Tomorrow’s STEM Leaders

Abstract: Underrepresentation of women in STEM has been recognized as a problem for society as a whole, not only as a fairness issue but also because it leads to design of services, processes and goods that disregard women. Female participation and success in STEM fields have been hampered by barriers that are a result of structural inequities and societal values that foster stereotypes and discrimination and have led to an underestimation of their skills and capabilities, a lack of representation and role models, rampant bias and widespread disinterest in addressing work-life balance challenges. The McNulty Program for Leadership in Science and Mathematics at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, PA, was established to build and empower a community of women, committed to pursuing careers in STEM fields, to ascend the highest ranks of leadership in STEM fields, to advocate for women’s interests in research, policy and product development, and to serve as mentors and role models for those who follow in their footsteps. This article examines the evolution of the McNulty Program’s leadership development curriculum as a model for other undergraduate programs.