Improving opportunities for women to obtain higher-paying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers will be the subject of a free, public talk from 5 to 6 p.m., Thursday, April 19, at T-Spoons, located at the corner of Linn and Market streets.

Dr. Victoria Sharp, clinical professor of urology and family medicine in the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, will speak on “STEM: Great Opportunities for Women Now and in the Future.”

She plans to discuss the fact that high school girls currently outperform boys in the classroom by generally earning higher grade point averages in mathematics and science. As a result, they are positioned to take advantage of improvements in the STEM career field. She notes that those improvements include a forecast 17 percent growth in STEM jobs by 2018 in fields where workers already earn an average of 26 percent higher wages than their counterparts in non-STEM jobs.

Sharp also serves as STEM coordinator in the UI Office of the Provost and as a member of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, where she co-chairs the STEM for All committee focused on high-ability, underserved and nontraditional students.

The talk is presented by Café Scientifique of Iowa City, a forum where the public is invited to explore and debate the latest ideas in science, mathematics, medicine, and technology on the third Thursday of the month from September to May.