Thoughts on Diversity in STEM

We tell people who want to save the world that they should be teachers, counselors, or lawyers. 

We stereotype anyone who likes science or engineering to lack empathy or social skills. Then we wonder why women and minorities don't pursue careers in STEM.

As a woman of color, the #1 reason why I didn't pursue a career in tech is because I always assumed it was an industry dominated by arrogant white men, and thus it's not meant for me. The former, unfortunately, is true and it needs to change.

If we want more minorities in STEM, we need to start telling our little girls they will excel in science not despite their empathy, but BECAUSE of it. We need to tell black and Latinx students that they can uplift their communities with a degree in computer science. We need to expose people to the scientists and engineers who work hard to solve problems, thus directly helping massive amounts of people. Engineers have the power to save the world on a scale even larger than politicians.

...yet we routinely tell people with the lowest levels of empathy that they'll make the best engineers.

Why?