Are Women Leaving STEM Careers to Become Entrepreneurs?

Are women leaving positions and careers in STEM to strike out their own as entrepreneurs? An upcoming oral session at the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Fall 2026 Meeting is set to explore this question.

The talk is titled “Forging Your Own Path: Why Women Leave STEM Early and Empowering Them Instead to Start Their Own Companies,” and it is set to take place from 3:40 pm to 4:10 pm on August 25^th, 2026. This talk will be delivered by Cherelle Bishop of Silver Fir Consulting.

In this talk, Bishop will trace the trajectory of women in STEM from early encouragement into mid-career attrition. Although many women were raised on the message that they could pursue any career and were actively supported through STEM programs, Bishop will draw on her own experience as a woman in the chemical industry who has been "first woman on technical staff" four times across five roles to argue that the real crisis emerges mid-career.¹ Women who thrived early on are increasingly pushed out not from lack of passion or skill, but from a lack of institutional support: workplace harassment, inflexibility around family responsibilities, biased promotion practices, and unequal pay. These pressures cause women to leave STEM fields earlier than men and to earn less along the way, especially in smaller companies without dedicated retention initiatives.

Rather than framing this as a pipeline problem to be fixed with more mentorship or persistence within traditional structures, Bishop will discuss a different strategy to solve these ongoing problems. It starts with empowering women to leave conventional STEM roles on their own terms by starting companies or joining startups, where they can find greater flexibility, ownership, and room for advancement.¹ As more women consider alternative employment opportunities, Bishop’s talk will not only serve as a call to action; it will combine data on why women leave STEM careers with practical guidance on how women can pivot mid-career into entrepreneurship, reframing the departure from traditional roles not as a loss to the field but as women charting their own paths forward.¹

What is the current state of women in STEM?

According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women currently comprise approximately 35% of the STEM workforce.² Although representation is undoubtedly increasing, not all sciences are seeing the same rise. For example, among the different STEM fields women are entering, the physical sciences are seeing something close to parity, with 44% of workers in the field comprising of women.³ However, computer sciences (23%) and engineering and technology (21%) still remain mostly male-dominated fields.³

What is the ACS Fall 2026 Meeting and what is the significance of this year’s meeting?

The ACS Fall 2026 National Meeting & Exposition will take place August 23–27, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois, with a digital participation option for those attending remotely.^4,5 The meeting offers thousands of scientific presentations, networking opportunities, professional development courses, and an expo showcasing the latest innovations in chemistry. It will be hosted primarily at the McCormick Place Convention Center.

This meeting carries special significance this year because it coincides with the celebration of the American Chemical Society's 150th anniversary, with ACS President Rigoberto Hernandez welcoming attendees. The theme, "Chemists Making History," reflects this milestone, and the event serves as the autumn anchor for the global chemistry community, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and interdisciplinary collaboration.^4,5

More information about the upcoming conference can be found in the literature.⁴

References

1. Bishop, C. Forging Your Own Path: Why Women Leave STEM Early and Empowering Them Instead to Start Their Own Companies. American Chemical Society, 2026. https://acs.digitellinc.com/live/37/page/1374?search=careers&tags=475&page=2&window-od4bz9 (accessed July 7, 2026).
2. National Girls Collaborative Project, Current State of STEM. National Girls Collaborative Project, 2026. https://ngcproject.org/statistics (accessed July 8, 2026).
3. STEM Women, Women in STEM Statistics. STEM Women, 2026. https://www.stemwomen.com/women-in-stem-statistics-progress-and-challenges (accessed July 8, 2026).
4. American Chemical Society, ACS Fall 2026 National Meeting, August 23-27 – Chicago, IL and Digital. American Chemical Society, 2026. https://www.siliconvalleyacs.org/event/acs-fall-2026-national-meeting/ (accessed July 7, 2026).
5. Cellulose and Renewable Materials, 2026 American Chemical Society Fall Meeting. Cellulose and Renewable Materials, 2026. https://acscell.org/event/testing-2/ (accessed July 7, 2026).