WVXU: STEM workforce is growing, but diversity still lags
UC associate dean says work remains to reach gender parity
WVXU's Cincinnati Edition talked to an associate dean at the University of Cincinnati about the gender gap in STEM fields.
UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Associate Dean Whitney Gaskins said women represent more than half of college graduates in the United States. But there is still a gender gap in many science, technology, engineering and math fields, Gaskins said.
At UC, women represent about 23% of enrollment in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science, she said.
“It’s even less when you think of women of color. I was the only Black girl in my biomedical engineering class until my third year,” Gaskins told Cincinnati Edition host Lucy May.
Gaskins serves as associate dean of UC’s Office of Inclusive Excellence and Community Engagement. Joining Gaskins for the segment was Anderson High School student Sosena Tefera, who wants to study aerospace engineering. She said she was one of just two girls in her computer science class.
“When people think about STEM, they definitely see it as a male-dominated field. And that is very frightening for teenage girls,” Sosena told Cincinnati Edition.
UC engineering students work co-op jobs at Cincinnati advanced manufacturing company Kinetic Vision. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
“My journey into STEM all started with me cold-emailing Dr. Gaskins,” Sosena said.
She took part in a UC engineering summer camp and now works as an intern at UC’s Digital Futures building, where she said she has gotten a feel for research in engineering labs.
Gaskins talked about the ways UC is helping first-generation college students and underrepresented minorities in Cincinnati Public Schools, or CPS, get a foothold to opportunity.
“CPS Strong is part of our president’s strategic direction. And in engineering we take it very seriously,” she said.
Many schools have trouble finding enough chemistry and physics teachers, so UC offers those classes to high school students so they can fulfill their admission prerequisites, she said.
“We’re talking about opportunity and access. Prosperity is for everyone,” she said.
UC Associate Dean Whitney Gaskins, right, talks to Germaine Hunter, chief diversity officer for GE Aerospace, during a public discussion about GE Next Engineers. Photo/GE Aerospace
Related Stories
Computer science student's color blindness inspires outfit matching app
May 14, 2026
Eric Langhorne, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, has developed a smartphone application that tells users whether or not their clothes are a match. Langhorne has color blindness, so this is a question he often asks himself and was a challenge he wanted to address. This project was done through the Experiential Explorations Program (EEP).
Will a gas tax help lower prices at the pump?
May 14, 2026
WCPO recently reported on Kentucky and Indiana’s steps to combat surging gas prices, cutting and suspending state gas taxes, respectively. UC economist Michael Jones explained the impact on Cincinnati.
Is a colonoscopy painful?
May 13, 2026
The University of Cincinnati's Susan Kais, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in the College of Medicine and UC Health gastroenterologist, recently appeared on the ARC Cincinnati morning program on Local 12/WKRC-TV to answer common questions from viewers about colonoscopies and to dispel myths.