Researchers should be taking more initiatives to create proper tools and enabling doctors to diagnose ADHD in both genders at young ages so that there can be proper treatment. If we continue to ignore the signs of developing ADHD in young girls, we are failing them in giving them the best possible chances for success in their futures.

I want to use this space to recognize two brilliant scientists - two women named Henrietta Swan Leavitt and Jocelyn Bell Burnell who have by-and-large revolutionized astronomy. Without their contributions, we would be years if not decades behind where we are today.

The statistical representation of women in STEM is dismal, with the percentage of women earning undergraduate degrees in fields such as computer science and engineering as low as 18-19%. From a young age, women are discouraged from focusing on STEM, as gender stereotypes, marketing, and an educational focus on male scientists throughout early curriculums lead to female students deviating from previous interests in STEM. This early societal conditioning, combined with the existence of the “glass ceiling,” leads to a vast underrepresentation of women in STEM fields.