A panel of women in STEM-related fields discussed issues women face as the minority in the workplace.
Kayla Missman
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The Gender Equity Center kicked off its Women’s HERstory series Feb. 7 with a Gender Buffet discussion titled “Modern Women in STEM.”
The event featured a panel of women involved in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM): computer science sophomore Nicole Giusti, microbiology junior Mikaela Chaney, aerospace engineering professor Dianne DeTurris and biological science professor Sandra Clement.
Ethnic studies junior Logan Cooper facilitated the event, prompting the panel with questions about their experience in male-dominated fields.
Women can’t win in STEM fields, Giusti said. She used the example of internships to prove her point: If a girl gets a good internship, men might get jealous and think she only got it because the company is required to hire women; if she doesn’t get it, men think it’s because she isn’t good enough.
“You can’t be unsure of yourself, or they’re going to trample all over you,” Giusti said. “I have to approach things with a lot of confidence.”
Women need to have thick skin and choose their battles, DeTurris said. She said she has been one of few women in her workplace for most of her life, and had to deny her femininity to fit in.
“You can’t identify as a woman — I tried to downplay my differences,” DeTurris said. “I didn’t want to be different. I didn’t want to stand out. I just wanted to do my work.”
She wanted to be defined as an engineer first and a woman second, which she doesn’t recommend to other women.
Despite downplaying her femininity, she was still unappreciated, and realized her method wasn’t working. Now, she wears pink on a regular basis and embraces being in the minority. She said she can’t even comprehend what it would be like if there were an equal amount of women in the field.
Materials engineering sophomore Alina Lusebrink, who was in the audience, identified with DeTurris’ thoughts.
“Everything she said hit home, with all the struggle of being the only woman in a male-dominated field, and having to downplay yourself,” she said.
Lusebrink said classes themselves cause her to downplay her femininity — in lab, for example, she has to tie back her long hair. She felt as if she wasn’t being respected as a lab partner and she even dropped a class because it didn’t feel like a safe environment.
Women tend to stick together during class, and men treat them differently, Lusebrink said.
Cross Cultural Centers assistant director Erin Echols, whose college experience was defined by being the only woman in her engineering major, asked the panelists to give college advice to women in STEM.
Clement recommended seeking out mentors who can help students “get through the rough spots.” She also said women should bring their whole selves to the job, have a plan that reflects their personal values and find support.
There are several supportive organizations for women in STEM fields, such as the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).
“My advice is SWE, SWE and SWE,” DeTurris said.
She said SWE teaches women leadership and group presentation skills, among other attributes that come in handy when looking for a job.
DeTurris said in 35 years, there has been minimal progress toward equality. That’s because society has been looking at the problem the wrong way, she said.
“We have been changing the people we put into the system, but what really has to change is the system itself,” DeTurris said.
Products are better when they are created by a diverse team, and some companies are starting to understand that, she said. If there are more women in STEM, there would probably be more feminine values, such as communication and collaboration instead of competition.
Currently, the male majority takes care of itself. But at some point, they will realize that women are as necessary in STEM fields as men, she said.