Nationwide, women account for 50.8 percent (157 million) of the total population and men account for 49.2 percent (151.8 million), according to the 2010 Census. 

The trend continues in U.S. colleges — where, according to a campaign for the advancement of women’s rights called Women Moving Millions, 58 percent of all undergraduates were women. Not to mention they account for 51 percent of PhDs, 67 percent of college graduates and 70 percent of valedictorians in 2012.

But this lead that women have begins to fall once they enter the workforce.

While women account for half of all jobs in the U.S., women fill only 25 percent of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs, according to Inside Higher Ed. The irony is that while women lead in total population and undergraduate enrollment, the female-to-male divide is quite distinct in male-dominated STEM fields.

But this disparity in the workforce isn’t spontaneous; it’s reflected in the gender gap in STEM fields in many colleges. 

Take our University, for instance, where females only account for 18 percent of students in STEM fields.

On the other hand, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the highest-ranked engineering school in the country, women make up 44 percent of its engineering department. On the other side of the spectrum, Carnegie Mellon University, generally ranked in the top ten best engineering schools in the country but below the University, still manages to have 30 percent of women account for its engineering program. 

But, really, anything south of 40 percent is none-too-pleasing.

The dismally low number of women in STEM majors in college and the workforce is alarming. Diversity, including gender, produces creativity and innovation in classrooms and in office buildings.

And that’s especially true in engineering industries. 

Major corporations continue to recognize the importance of women’s unique contributions to STEM fields. 

Just last year, Yahoo! announced Marissa Mayer as its new CEO and President (she was also the first female engineer at Google). She serves as a role model to young girls and spread the message that women can and will continue to rise through male-dominated industries.

Even Apple has followed the trend by offering a $10,000 scholarship, called the iOS Scholarship for Women in Technology, for education and a chance to intern at the company. Google has long employed female engineers for positions from webcrawl infrastructure to software development.

A school that leads with women in the STEM fields will not only have a stronger and more diverse program, it will also help close a historical disparity.

This is something Chancellor Phyllis Wise has both acknowledged and promoted. In an interview with The Daily Illini Editorial Board in October, Chancellor Wise reaffirmed the University’s lifelong commitment to diversity: “We are going in the right direction, but I can say that I don’t think I’ll ever give up on diversity. I don’t think you can ever become too diverse.”

But we need to push harder. Our University may be achieving diversity in some disciplines, but in others, such as STEM, we are clearly lacking. 

Not only is addressing and closing this disparity in STEM fields for women vital to the survival of the United States’ industrial advantage, but it’s just as vital to building a better university.