The U.S. labor market continues to grapple with a “skills gap” (Marshall & Craig, 2019): a disconnect between the skills employers need and the number of job-seekers with those skills. Compounded by historically low unemployment rates, this gap is leaving employers with unfilled jobs and narrow talent pipelines. Concurrently, there are lingering concerns regarding underrepresentation of women and minorities in certain sectors of the labor market—particularly occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This article examines how the traditional interest-only career guidance tools used in education significantly influence the gender-based skills gaps that persist in high-demand careers and introduces YouScience, a company that is helping ameliorate the skills gap by combining measures of aptitudes and interests in a new career discovery platform. We close by presenting action steps for students, parents, educators, and counselors, as well as positing possible effects of COVID-19 on career exploration and counseling.

中文翻译：

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YouScience：通过解决高需求职业中的性别失衡来缩小技能差距

美国劳动力市场继续努力解决“技能差距”（Marshall & Craig，2019 年）：雇主需要的技能与具备这些技能的求职者数量之间存在脱节。再加上处于历史低位的失业率，这一差距正在使雇主面临空缺的工作岗位和狭窄的人才渠道。与此同时，在劳动力市场的某些领域——尤其是在科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 领域的职业中，女性和少数族裔的代表性不足的担忧挥之不去。本文探讨了教育中使用的传统的仅兴趣职业指导工具如何显着影响在高需求职业中持续存在的基于性别的技能差距，并介绍了 YouScience，一家通过在新的职业发现平台中结合能力和兴趣的衡量标准来帮助缩小技能差距的公司。最后，我们为学生、家长、教育工作者和辅导员介绍了行动步骤，并提出了 COVID-19 对职业探索和咨询的可能影响。