Paving the Way for Women in Stem

Floor Speech

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Ms. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, is an industry comprised of physicists, chemical and biomedical engineers, and professionals creating and developing innovative technologies.

Demand for workers in these fields is high, but women remain underrepresented, especially in engineering and computer sciences. According to a study by the National Girls Collaborative, women make up nearly 50 percent of the overall workforce but less than 30 percent of careers in STEM.

Women have made tremendous strides in this field over the last few decades, but women's underrepresentation in STEM limits discoveries and holds back our economy. Today I want to tell Members about an outstanding woman in my district who is paving the way for women in STEM.

Aria Soha from Batavia, Illinois, works as the installation coordinator for the Short-Baseline Neutrino Program at Fermi National Laboratory. Aria was an outstanding student in math throughout school and chose to major in physics her second year of college at Carnegie Mellon University.

In college, Aria worked relentlessly to find research opportunities and got the chance to build microwave telescopes, tools to examine high-energy radio waves that are hard to observe from the ground. After graduating, Aria accepted a job at Fermi Lab, a world-class research facility we are proud of in the 14th District.

There are so many hidden figures in STEM, and I am proud to shine a bright light on the strong, smart women in the 14th District leading and making a difference in our community.

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