Why women should pick science & math degrees over liberal arts

“What a pistol!” was the universal sentiment voiced around the office after we shot this video with Penny Herscher.

Herscher is a tech CEO (FirstRain is her company); she and I first came into contact on Twitter when I was bemoaning the state of female entrepreneurship. I thought lady founders were wasting their talents on dating- and fashion-related startups, while Herscher contended that more women founders was better than the alternative, regardless of the startup’s vertical.

While Penny and I agree to disagree on the kinds of startups women (and men, too) should be focusing their attention on, she brings a fresh perspective to how women should approach science, technology, engineering and math.

With both parents working in the STEM fields, both Herscher and her sister ended up choosing STEM majors in college; liberal arts education and careers, she said, were out of the question. Herscher calls this attitude “intellectual snobbery,” but it’s one she has chosen to pass on to her own children and the young women she mentors.

To find out why she would espouse such a controversial line of thinking, watch the video, and feel free to voice your own opinion in the comments.