How can we close the gender and pay gap and fuel Ohio’s workforce growth, particularly in high demand science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields? Ohio’s high-tech employers will need ever-growing numbers of trained and passionate STEM employees as the state welcomes two Intel semiconductor manufacturing plants and an array of other new tech industries now experiencing rapid growth.

Women make up nearly half of the workforce, yet are drastically underrepresented in key lucrative fields, including STEM careers, where only 18% of leadership roles are held by women.  Women are underrepresented in other growing fields, with just 11% of construction jobs filled by women, 15% of engineers and architects, and only 6% of welders.

Contributing to the shortage is a disconnect between school curricula and relevant, practical workplace skills, resulting in a gap between worker capabilities and employer expectations. This CMC forum explores how Central Ohio can close the gender and pay gap for women and open career pathways for girls to high-wage and high-growth STEM jobs.

The speakers are:

Lori Gillett, CEO, Corna Kokosing,

Ayanna Howard, Ph.D., Dean, College of Engineering, The Ohio State University

Tammy Wharton, President & CEO, Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland

The host is Sheri Chaney Jones, Founder & CEO, SureImpact, and Founder and President, Measurement Resources Company

This forum is CMC's annual Jeffrey Family Legacy Fund Forum to promote a thriving, equitable, and sustainable community. 

This forum was sponsored by Battelle, CK Construction, and The Jeffrey Company. It was supported by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. The livestream was presented by The Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation and by The Columbus Dispatch.