I don’t know if you noticed but most STEM fields are dominated by males. Many speculate that this gender bias is because boys are pushed toward more STEM-centric activities like building toys while at an early age. Regardless of the reason, teams with women on them outperform those that do not by 15%, according to an Ohio University report. That’s a huge benefit of diversity in STEM workplaces.

Why is this? It could be because women (read: girls) bring a unique leadership skill set. In other words, they usually approach leadership differently than most males. They can be STEM workplace game changers because of their innate abilities.

Here’s the type of leadership qualities women and girls and bring to the STEM workplace:

• Emotional intelligence (EI): empathy and sympathy are soft skills that tends to be lacking in a male dominated work setting. Even big companies like Google have determined they need employees with high EI to succeed.
• Communication skills: most women are good communicators. Science has proven this again and again. Studies have shown that the hearing ability of infant girls are infinitely better than infant boys. They are born listeners, literally, and continue to develop their skills of listening at a faster rate. This inborn skills puts them ahead of their male peers in the communication department.
• Mentorship mentality: being a good mentor calls for a high EI, it requires communication, and a bent toward nurturing. Leaders who act more like mentors rather than unreachable dictators have better teams. This is what studies show again and again.

When I (Linda) taught in project-based settings in academia, I made a point of making sure all the girls were not on the same team. I knew that young men could make great leaders too but I also realized that diversity in leadership strengthened the team dynamic. I encouraged all team members to share responsibility for taking notes, being the team captain, etc. And reminded them that a person’s gender did not define their role.

Each person comes with taught and ‘caught’ skills. Sometimes girls need to be reminded that they have value on a team. Challenge the girls in your life to see their tendency toward empathy and relationship-building as a strength. Did this article address some of your stereotypes about women and girls in STEM leadership? Leave a comment.