THE FUTURE IS FEMALE

Erika Saladin ’19

Micki Williams ’18

Katie Koczirka ’20

Rulaiha Taylor ’18

Emma Calkins ’19

Ewurabena Ampofo-Tenkorang ’19

Tran Tran ’18

 

 

” I’m here, I’m doing it for me”- Erika Saladin

When it comes to the field of S.T.E.M ( Science, technology, engineering, and math) all I have ever heard was ” why so few?” When people speak of few, they mean women. There are countless data that highlights the social barriers for women within the field of STEM. This is especially said to be the case within the science and engineering departments throughout colleges and universities.

So, I set out on a mission. I gathered around a couple of women I know to question them on their personal feelings of being a woman within their respected STEM fields.  A lot of the findings out there can allude to women feeling defeated due to a number of obstacles they may face.  However, to much of my liking, this was not the case at all.

I interviewed 7 women. They are all of various backgrounds and some are involved in the same field.Each woman gave me a deep insight into their fields and the struggles they face within them generally. When I asked them whether they faced any struggles by being a woman in STEM, they all had varying answers and concerns.

For Biochemistry major Rulaiha and Computer Science major Ewurabena sometimes gender played a role in how they were treated in their fields, but most of their struggles related to other factors relating to their identity. Ewurabena said, “I am a woman, a woman of color,  and an international student. I come from a country where stereotypes are that I live in trees. So, I feel that some people question my ability. They can sometimes say, ” oh, what does she know?” Rulaiha notes that she can count the woman of color in her field on her hand. However, most of her struggles within her field comes from her background. Rulaiha is a first-generation student and says that in these fields a lot of your access can be who you know. Because of her being a first-generation student, her parents do not know many people within her field that she is able to shadow to gain hands-on experience. She further sheds light on the privilege within these fields that do not cater to people of lower socioeconomic classes. She uses graduate school applications to support this point. She says how so many people within her field are applying to numerous graduate schools despite how expensive the applications can be. She says that this is an obstacle in her way that may not be there for those who are more privileged.

Micki and Erika, both children of immigrants, note this privilege as well. They point out that most of their networking has been their own. For Erika, a lot of her struggles within STEM are internal. Since Spanish is her first language, she can sometimes struggle with words and concepts she is taught in class. However, Erika who learned to speak English at 13-year-olds proclaims, ” If I can learn another language, I can learn this too!” She talked a lot about staying within this field, obviously for her own happiness, but more so for her family. She watched how hard her mom and dad have worked to give her a good life and wants to be able to provide for them in the future.

Micki admits that she has had a few moments where she has second-guessed herself in class based on her gender but admits that, ” it’s not always men. It’s hard not to let those strong, overpowering people anywhere in life make you feel like you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

For psych majors Emma and Tran they both discussed how the gender divide is flipped in their fields. Specifically, because their field is predominantly filled with women. They both think that more men need to join the psychology field actually. Most of their struggles within their field are not gender-based but are instead stigma’s around the field of psychology itself. Two of the problems are 1) debate over whether it is a hard science. For those second-guessing Tran is here to proclaim, ” It is a real science.” The second struggle is having fewer men involved in it specifically because it is seen as a helping profession, which most women are encouraged to join.

Biology and Pre-med major Katie speaks to the same problem. She says, “There are only 2 boys in my genetics class. If anything in that class it is flipped. I know my mom encountered a difference. Women were encouraged to be nurses rather than doctors. But she has fought those challenges. It has changed a lot although I am aware of the stereotypes. I have never been personally held back or affected by it.”

Even with varied struggles and problems within their field, there are two things they all agreed on. The first thing is how diverse the research in their fields need to be. Emma notes that all perspectives within STEM research matters from socioeconomic background, race, gender, and more and need to be apart of future research.  Erika declares, “The more diverse brains there are out there, the better research will be produced.”

The second thing they all agreed on was that despite there being a  social stigma against woman within STEM fields, none of them felt limited or scared to be in their fields.  Emma notes, ” we are just as capable.” Tran says, ” I love it and I know I’m good at so I’m never scared to be a woman within it.”  Biology major Katie has the same attitude. Katie says, “I was never scared. It is intimidating and will be a challenge but I am not scared of that challenge.  Ewurabena’s attitude is, ” you gotta risk it to get the biscuit!”

As different as all of these young women are, they are all quite similar. They all possess one of my favorite qualities: Grit. They are all determined to accomplish their goals within their respected STEM fields despite the obstacles they may or are already facing. They are doing it for themselves. They are self-motivated and resilient. They are what the future of STEM looks like. Tell the world to get ready because these ladies and I’m sure even more young ladies are taking over within the field of STEM soon!

As Micki proclaimed at the end of her interview, ” The future is female!”

Peace.