Internet of Mysterious Things: Since it's well-documented that interest in STEM-related careers falls off amongst girls at a very young age, due to stereotypes, lack of exposure and, sadly, lack of confidence, we're a big fan of anything that makes these fields more exciting, interesting and accessible to girls. One such thing came to our attention via Kickstarter: the nearly funded Internet of Mysterious Things (IoMT), a "living NFC-enabled" children's book about the Internet of Things. Developed by software engineer and inventor Lisa Seacat DeLuca, the book aims to answer children's most pressing question -- "why? -- about how everyday technology works. It combines cool tech -- IoT, near-field communications (NFC) and Amazon Alexa compatibility -- with a fun story and, DeLuca says, also reminds kids to look up from their phones once in a while too. (See STEMing the Decline: Scientists Appeal to the Next Generation.)

STEM jobs, no waiting: There may be a shortage of women applying for STEM jobs, but the good news is those who do are able to land them with very little lag time, at least in Asia-Pac. According to a new study by Mastercard, female STEM graduates take less than six months to land their first job. Upon graduation, 84% of the more than 2,200 female STEM graduates said they took less than half a year to get a job, and 63% reported being very satisfied with the options available to them. Most took jobs in computer and IT or healthcare and medical fields. The survey respondents also shared what attracted them to STEM careers, with the challenge, ability to learn something new and job security topping the list. The study further supports what we've been saying here at WiC -- it's a great time to be a woman in STEM, but more needs to be done to attract women to the field starting at a young age. (See More Women in Tech Is Critically Important.)

The data science opportunity: While the gender imbalance is exacerbated in the tech industry, technology also has a lot of potential to help even the playing field for women. Data science is emerging as one area where women are making their mark and seeing more opportunity. Women now make up 40% of graduates with degrees in statistics at a time when big data and analytics requirements are opening up more jobs than ever in the tech world, but also at any company looking to better leverage data for decision making. Stanford recently held its now Women in Data Science conference bringing together thousands of women already in the industry from 114 companies and 31 universities attending live at Stanford, with another 78 satellite events taking place across 26 countries. With an impressive line-up of female speakers, the conference focused on the technical aspects of data science, but was also encouraging both for the current workforce of women, and for the future. (See Artificial Intelligence Expert Weighs In for WiC.)

— Sarah Thomas, , Director, Women in Comms