Listen to the podcast here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TGbjKG8foN6E_qG34BRm2_upuR-tT1Cj/view?usp=sharing

It’s no secret that men have long dominated the STEM field, and some of the field’s leading female pioneers were robbed of the recognition they deserved. Take Rosalind Franklin, an excellent wet-lab chemist. She took the first clear X-ray fiber diffraction photo of DNA, which James Watson and Francis Crick then used to formulate their DNA structural model–without giving her credit. Franklin died of cancer at age 37, likely due to her prolonged exposure to radiation in the lab. Watson and Crick, meanwhile, went on to win a Nobel prize for their paper on DNA (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024). Or consider Eunice Foote, the first scientist to demonstrate the greenhouse gas effect warming the atmosphere. John Tyndall got credit for this theory (Kurland, Hafner, Feder et al. 2023). 

The crushing truth is: Similar problems persist today. Women still struggle to gain a foothold in the STEM field. They lack the same access to educational opportunities, research openings, and jobs as their male counterparts. Even when women earn a STEM degree, a significant portion of them do not enter or stay in the STEM workforce. This helps explain why only about one-third of STEM workers in the U.S. are currently women, even though half of the U.S. workforce is female (Beasley, M., & Fischer, M 2012). 

Sociological studies have provided many potential explanations for why women give up on the STEM track. Among them: early depletion of confidence, isolation from integral networks, and biases against women in the field (Grieco, E., & Deitz, S 2023). 

Many women in the STEM field would tell you that they have stories of feeling looked down upon by others. Some start to doubt whether they even belong in the field. I can relate to this.

My story started in middle school when I was placed on an accelerated math track. Instead of feeling exhilarated by the academic challenge, I felt depleted as I faced an endless barrage of mansplaining from some of my male peers.  I now realize that I felt belittled, and it took a subconscious toll. When I started my freshman year of college, I felt a sense of dread as I entered my first Multivariable Calculus class. But early into the semester, a female classmate told me about the Women in STEM group chat. The group of 25 Hamilton female STEM students proved to be a lifeline for me, a community that inspired and encouraged me to pursue the topics that have intrigued me since I was a kid–without trepidation. 

This podcast aims to spotlight the narratives of female STEM professors, revealing the challenges they faced on their paths to success and connecting their real-life stories with some of the most intriguing sociological studies about the working culture in STEM. 

 Just as the women in STEM group chat enabled me to double down on my studies and succeed, I hope this podcast will do the same for other women and let them know that they are not alone, and they can thrive. 

References

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2024. “Rosalind Franklin.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 1, 2024. (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rosalind-Franklin). 

Barth, Joan M., and Yang Yang. 2022. “Changes in Life Goals Over College: A Comparison between Men and Women Majoring in STEM.” Sex Roles 87(1-2):20-34. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-022-01300-6.

Beasley, Maya A. and Mary J. Fischer. 2012. “Why They Leave: The Impact of Stereotype Threat on the Attrition of Women and Minorities from Science, Math and Engineering Majors.” Social Psychology of Education 15(4):427–48. Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-012-9185-3

Bloodhart, B., Balgopal, M. M., Casper, A. M., Sample McMeeking, L. B., & Fischer, E. V. (2020). Outperforming yet undervalued: Undergraduate women in Stem. PLOS ONE, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234685 

Collins, Regina, and Nancy Steffen-Fluhr. 2019. “Hidden Patterns: Using Social Network Analysis to Track Career Trajectories of Women STEM Faculty.” Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal 38(2):265-282. doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0183.

Kurland, Z., Hafner, K., Feder, E., & The Lost Women of Science Initiative. (2024, February 20). The woman who demonstrated the greenhouse effect. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-woman-who-demonstrated-the-greenhouse-effect

Shaffer, Emily S., David M. Marx and Radmila Prislin. 2013. “Mind the Gap: Framing of Women’s Success and Representation in STEM Affects Women’s Math Performance Under Threat.” Sex Roles 68(7-8):454-463. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-012-0252-1.

Grieco, E., & Deitz, S. (n.d.). Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities. U.S. National Science Foundation. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf23315/report#:~:text=STEM%20Workforce,-The%20U.S.%20STEM&text=In%202021%2C%20among%20people%20ages,were%20employed%20in%20STEM%20occupations

Images

“Making the Workplace Culture More Welcoming to Women in STEM.” Image (JPEG). Retrieved 2 May 2024. https://innovationatwork.ieee.org/making-the-workplace-culture-more-welcoming-to-women-in-stem/