Despite the emphasis on bringing girls into the science, technology, engineering and math fields, the number of women working in technology is on a steady decline. It’s not because they aren’t satisfied: 80% of women employed in scientific, engineering and technology jobs say they “love their work.” Yet, 56% of women quit tech careers midstream.

If women are passionate about working in STEM fields, why do they quit at double the rate of men?

“The workplace is not friendly towards mothers,” said Tina Lee (pictured), founder and chief executive officer of MotherCoders, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help women with kids on-ramp to careers in tech so they can thrive in a digital economy. “The ‘mothers penalty’ marks you as someone who’s less committed to your career and less competent, when that’s the furthest from the truth.”

Lee spoke with Lisa Martin (@LisaMartinTV), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Women Transforming Technology Conference in Palo Alto, California. They discussed the challenges facing STEM-skilled mothers in and outside the workplace (see the full interview with transcript here.) (* Disclosure below.)

Mothers can hack it

Armed with an advanced degree from Stanford, Lee had idealistic dreams of using technology to “change the world.” With a promising career in the Bay Area tech community, she was on the way to fulfilling her dream. Then, like 86% of American women, she chose to become a mother.

“Once my second daughter was born, it just became increasingly difficult to keep up with my technical skills,” Lee said. Feeling isolated and frustrated, she reached out to other women in a similar situation.

“Why don’t we have our own meetup for moms?” Lee asked herself. She posted online, and nearly 100 women responded in less than a week.

“So, I started MotherCoders as a way to help moms — women who have become moms — gain technical skills so that they can get jobs that will enable them to contribute to shaping their future,” she stated.

More than just providing support for women wanting to increase their technical skill level, MotherCoders offers classes given by expert women in specific high-tech fields.

“At the end of our nine-week program, the moms walk away with a greater sense of purpose and more clarity about their career path. They also leave knowing they have a crew behind them that they can access anytime,” Lee said.

Betting on moms is smart business

Women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families and communities and drive 85% of business and consumer purchasing. “This is an important community that needs to be involved in the design of technologies and products and services,” Martin stated.

“We are just not enabling all this innovation and source of power that are locked up in moms, both inside and outside of the workforce,” Lee agreed. “If we were to create some ways to release some pressure off caregivers in general, right, not just mothers, [but] fathers, people caring for elderly, even pet owners, everyone will feel better; everyone would benefit.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Women Transforming Technology Conference. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Women Transforming Technology Conference event. Neither VMware Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE