Women in STEM Fields
The hostility comes from the competitive nature of STEM fields. It is by far more lucrative to be the first person to accomplish a significant task than it is to be the second. This can cause an inherent distrust between colleagues who are both vying for the title of first. Women have not been the main players in STEM fields and are often seen as outsiders and therefore threats. It can be difficult to collaborate with someone that seems so different from yourself. The root of this hostility ultimately comes from the idea that women are ultimately trying to control men. Though not an example in a STEM field a current case would be the Brett Kavanaugh hearing. Where Dr. Ford (a woman in STEM) testified against Brett Kavanaugh her alleged attacker. You can find an interesting interpretation of this issue here.
The second part of ambivalent sexism is arguably the more interesting part. The benevolent aspect of ambivalent sexism can be thought of as sort of modern day chivalry women do not want. This involves men thinking that women need some sort of special circumstances in order to be successful. This could be things like talking down to them, or holding them back because they believe that they are not ready when they are more than capable. The internet started to pick up on this male habit and dubbed it “mansplaining” (please see the video below). While the aggressor does not see himself in the wrong it is clear that his actions are belittling and unnecessary.
Another issue that plagues women in disproportionately male dominated workplaces is objectification. Objectification refers to viewing a human being as a thing. This is a topic of debate in the advertising world where women are often depicted as mere sex objects. This however can affect women in the workplace as well. When women are viewed as objects and not people they lose out on opportunities, money and most of all respect. When women aren’t people but things it allows for the justification of wrongdoing towards them to be a lot easier: you aren’t hurting a person you are hurting a thing. You can read an interesting synapsis on this issue by three psychologists from CNBC.
While the STEM culture is becoming more welcoming to women many still face discrimination. This is especially true for women of minorities. Though set in the 1960’s the biographical drama highlights the importance and the struggle of minority women in STEM. The movie depicts all of the aformentioned issues that women face while working in STEM fields. Jim Parson's character in the movie is threatened by Taraji P. Henson's character. He feels that her contributions to putting a man into orbit with belittle his own. He acts out with hostility and coldness towards a woman whom society has already deemed unworthy. In addition the women of the movie are often told that they can not compute like a man can, that it will take a toll on their minds. This assumed fragility is classical benevolent sexism. The women are also objectified. They, like many people of their race, were seen less like people and more like things. Taraji P. Henson's character in the movie was forced to use the coloured bathroom which was all of the way across the NASA campus. She had a half mile walk outside just to simply use the restroom. Though conditions are not nearly as extreme now some of the main elements of the story still ring true.
Women have made great strides in overcoming the hardships of existing in male dominated fields. They have shown courage and strength while exceeding expectations by creating and discovering some of humanity's greatest achievements. Rampant sexism and obscene objectification have been wreaking havoc on all women since the beginning of time. The deeply ingrained notion that whatever a woman can do a man can do better allowed for sexism both hostile and benevolent to remain unchecked. Objectification only allows for the justification of sexism. Though things may seem bleak many brave women have come forward in an attempt to change the culture within STEM workplaces and through their hard work and sacrifice the future is looking a little brighter for the rest of us.
Cassese, E. C., Barnes, T. D., & Holman, M. (2018, October 02). How 'hostile sexism' came to shape our politics. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/10/02/who-supports-kavanaugh-after-last-weeks-angry-hearings-our-research-helps-explain/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.f770665b715f
Connley, C. (2017, November 20). 3 psychologists explain why men harass women in the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/20/3-psychologists-explain-why-men-harass-women-in-the-workplace.html
Persistence of women and minorities in STEM field majors: Is it the school that matters? (2010, July 05). Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775710000750
Walden, S., & Walden, S. (2016, January 22). These STEM initiatives are inspiring women and girls around the globe. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2016/01/22/women-in-stem-global/#.VrRhY7PyuqF
I really enjoyed reading your post! I am going into healthcare and not a STEM field, so I don't have a super extensive knowledge of the ins and outs of disparities and sexism occurring in STEM careers. In my future field of physical therapy, I have (so far) seen a pretty level playing field, and a lot of women standing out as great therapists just as much as men within the field. I think your post did a really good job of integrating the statistical facts of sexism in STEM careers with the story in Hidden Figures. This movie tells a very inspiring story, and advocates for women taking a stand and doing any job they may have to the best of their ability, which I think this is a very strong point to make. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Your last line about hard work and sacrifice projects a bright future for women in STEM-related fields. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post. This is a very important topic to me as a Computer Science major. It is crazy to me that the computer science stereotype has turned into lazy men who live in dark rooms all day when the person known as the first programmer was a woman. Women's stories often get buried behind all of the men and it can be disheartening. I hope that more stories like Hidden Figures get talked about, and I hope that more girls will be inspired to work in stem fields.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very important problem to address. It is still evident that women are still discouraged from pursuing a career in STEM, and this can be because of the hostile environment you discussed in your post and also the society we grow up in. Whenever we think of a scientist or an engineer, many of us visualize a man. This is because that is what we usually see, not many people grow up surrounded by women in the STEM field and it is not depicted enough in the world. Even things as simple as magazines crate a society where girls may not think STEM is something for them to pursue. There is a magazine called Boy’s Life and on the cover of one edition it says “Explore your Future” and has the depiction of a bunch of technical fields. In contrast, the Girl’s Life magazine has a girl on the cover and headlines such as “Your dream hair” and “Wake up pretty!”. It gives girls the wrong idea that their main goal in life should be to look good whereas boys are told to get out into the world and explore. However, it’s wonderful to see that this problem is being addressed more even by Michigan Tech with the university’s Women in Engineering Program for high school girls to be a part of and explore the engineering fields. I watched Hidden Figures and it was really amazing to see that movie and realize how far we have come since then, but also how much further we still need to go in order to make women feel equal to their men coworkers in STEM fields whether that is by ratio, improvements in the workplace environment, or even by pay.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that women have had the uphill battle i our society. However, times are changing and so are the numbers.
ReplyDelete"According to data from the Department of Education on college degrees by gender, the US college degree gap favoring women started back in 1978, when for the first time ever, more women than men earned Associate’s degrees. Five years later in 1982, women earned more bachelor’s degrees than men for the first time, and women have increased their share of bachelor’s degrees in every year since then. In another five years by 1987, women earned the majority of master’s degrees for the first time. Finally, within another decade, more women than men earned doctor’s degrees by 2006, and female domination of college degrees at every level was complete. For the current graduating class of 2013, the Department of Education estimates that women will earn 61.6% of all associate’s degrees this year, 56.7% of all bachelor’s degrees, 59.9% of all master’s degrees, and 51.6% of all doctor’s degrees."
https://collegepuzzle.stanford.edu/tag/women-exceed-men-in-college-graduation/
It is also true that the majority of women that are graduating are not choosing STEM degrees. The gender gap in STEM degrees does seem to apply across all races. But its important to note that among each race, STEM degrees make up less than 25%.
https://inside.collegefactual.com/stories/women-vs-men-in-stem-degrees
Really great post Brenna! I liked how you brought up several issues associated with the under-representation of women in STEM fields. I hardly ever hear people bring up the problems with objectification of women in the workplace when talking about the under-representation of women or the wage gap, but it is a very important issue that just furthers some of the problems in the workplace.
ReplyDeleteCould you expand on the graphic that stated STEM jobs pay women better? I have never heard that before and it really sparked my interest. Why do you think this is? My initial thought was that the wage gap would not be smaller in STEM fields because there is an under-representation of women but I have never looked into that so I do not know. It would be interesting to know more.
I was not really able to find why STEM jobs offer more comparable pay between men and women. If I could take a guess it would be because most STEM jobs are always in high demand. Most jobs in the STEM fields require quite a bit of training (internships, co-ops, prior experience to graduation are routinely expected) as well as a high level of education. Many jobs also demand a master's degree. All of these things often accumulate debt for the perspective employee so they have to be fairly compensated. I think that ultimately these industries are always desperate for workers.
DeleteThis form of sexism that creates unnecessary barriers for women trying to enter STEM fields is a real shame, in my opinion. By pushing views and stereotypes, and creating hostility that limits the diversity in a field, the potential perspectives and ideas are also limited. Having higher diversity in types of people in the field means higher diversity in the types of thought and the solutions to problems that can come about. So, I really think this situation is quite detrimental to the field and that we should embrace diversity.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, it is good news that this problem is improving over time. Ideally, we would see both groups as equal and stop considering such things as gender entirely when it comes to the work that has to get done.
I really enjoyed the blog post and layout! In some workplaces I think that objectification is a problem for women. I have experienced it first hand and know friends and family that have been treated in such a manner. That is never ok. However, my thoughts on women being discriminated in STEM may vary from you. I think that more men are in STEM because of their inherent cognitive strengths. In STEM and engineering, spacial recognition and spacial awareness are very important skills for working in this field. "Males typically outperform females on spatial tasks, beginning early in life and continuing into adulthood"(Sneider). This does not mean that women cannot be successful in STEM, because this study does not apply to everyone. On the other hand, women tend to have a faster and deeper working memory than men. "Researchers from The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) found middle-aged women outperform age-matched men when it comes to measures of memory"(Rentz). I think that this male flooded field is more of a result of capitalizing on cognitive strengths than discrimination against women.
ReplyDeleteSneider, J. T., Hamilton, D. A., Cohen-Gilbert, J. E., Crowley, D. J., Rosso, I. M., & Silveri, M. M. (2014). Sex differences in spatial navigation and perception in human adolescents and emerging adults. Behavioural processes, 111, 42-50.
Rentz DM, Weiss BK, Jacobs EG et al. Sex differences in episodic memory in early midlife: impact of reproductive aging. Menopause. 2016.
I think another important part of the lack of women in STEM fields is a condition known as the impostor syndrome. Earned achievements are rationalized due to luck or outside circumstances by the achiever. It is a very discouraging cycle that only hurts more and more people. It is not restricted to women, but is more prevalent among them. It feels good when I see toys marketed towards girls that encourage them to take an interest in science and I hope it helps future generations.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point Lindsey. The imposter syndrome undermines women's achievements and, from an outside perspective, makes it harder for women to gain recognition. In addition the attribution of credit is often the major portion of the scientific process that general public sees. If little girls see women having to fight for every scrap of credit that they deserve they may be less likely to enter such fields.
DeleteThis was an engaging read! I absolutely think that more representation is needed in the STEM field for women. As someone who is getting their BA, even I am bothered and have plainly seen many women fall victim to condescending remarks and behavior. It is disheartening to see how often these displays occur, and have personally seen it happen too many times to some brilliant women in STEM. Motivating and helping younger girls push past these obstacles will help bring more determined and insightful minds into these fields.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it pays to focus on younger girls, but obviously it can't end there! In class I believe it was Dr. Steelman that brought up the fact that even through middle school the split is about 50-50 for boys and girls wanting to pursue STEM fields. But between the culture that has developed within STEM fields and the stigma that women must face, the effort must continue through time! So while encouraging girls to explore STEM topics in primary school is quite important I think we also have to increase our support of things like SWE so that any desires to pursue STEM careers aren't lost through secondary and post-secondary education.
DeleteI completely agree! I can only speak for myself, but my interest in STEM fields started from a very young age. The only reason that my interests continued was because of the overwhelming support from my family and educators. It is so important to fund programs like SWE as they are fostering not only the STEM workers of tomorrow but also promoting diversity in such sagnant groups.
DeleteAfter our class discussion on this topic I think I definitely understood more of the issues with gender disparity and bias within STEM fields. What is interesting to me is the ambivalent sexism, where things that men don't even necessarily view as sexism can result in massive disparity in positions held, such as men in higher positions thinking a colleague is "helping" his female counterpart, which may mean he would promote the male employee over the female, when in fact they are peers. Definitely a pervasive issue that's hard to tackle, and the effects we are seeing in every field (even non-STEM).
ReplyDeleteI think it's really important to talk about women in STEM, even if it isn't a "how do we get numbers" sort of conversation. I think that, aside from the under representation of women in STEM fields, we need to treat women better. This is a multi-faceted argument in the sense that it encompasses rape culture and equal pay, among other things. In order to keep women in the STEM field, or even interest them enough to stay with a STEM major, you can't bully them out of it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point. I think that many of us assume that if we push more women into STEM fields that the problem will disappear. I don't know if that is necessarily true. If you are right, which I suspect that you might be, we would be pushing women into fields where they are not necessarily welcome which could further aggravate the problem.
DeleteAs a women in the STEM fields, I have always known about the wage gap in the workplace, but never really thought about how it would be different in the STEM fields. I guess that would be because in the STEM fields you have to work harder and put more time into the degree, than some other degrees. It always amazes me how many men have no idea about the gap, or that most don't care. The best way to start getting younger girls into STEM is to expose them to projects young. I participate in Mind Trekkers which does this kind of out reach. Then once that kind of idea is put in there heads, teachers should encourage young girls more. I know that in high school my teachers pushed most girls to go to school for business or teaching or child care, while the boys were pushed to go into engineering, chemistry, and welding. I was the only girl who was in most of my computer courses, and I only stayed in computer engineering because my teacher at the time was very supportive and encouraging to me. I noticed that in the classes that had few girls in them like welding they were often paired with the best male welder for projects and then didn't get to do a lot of work. I think that if young female students were given the same kind of encouragement in STEM as the get in things like English or foreign language maybe there would be more women in STEM fields.
ReplyDeleteI think there are certainly some great efforts being made in the field of STEM inclusion--such as Girls Who Code, and other organizations you mentioned. I think that companies can and should not stand for blatant, intentional discrimination either.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when we get to the subconscious side of sexism.... that's more of a cultural issue, I think, because simply knowing about the bias doesn't stop it from existing. There are certainly steps we can take to help mitigate that, but at the end of the day *some* people will still hold discriminatory views whether they realize it or not.
The solution to this problem, ultimately, is time. Time for culture to change--because it doesn't happen overnight. One good example of this is some of the 3rd world countries where very recently medical and logistical technologies have come into existence virtually overnight. Just like how in the past of America it was common to have several or more children (as many would die before adulthood), in these countries we're seeing a similar issue. Despite the fact that it's no longer necessary to do that as child mortality rates have dropped greatly, the culture still lags behind, and it's "the norm" to have many kids.
And while I do think representation in STEM is an issue, a greater issue is women in the trades and physical labor types of careers. Sure 24% of STEM fields being women may seem like a bad thing, but this is ultimately peanuts compared to fields like carpenters and bricklayers, for which women account of about 0.2% of the workforce in the case of carpenters. That's not 25%, that's not 2.5%, that's zero-point-two percent. If women are 1 in 5 of STEM field workers, (rounding the statistic to make it worse than reality) then women are just 1 in 500 of these sorts of jobs (see below for source).
The issue of representation is 100 times worse in these fields than STEM, and yet at least publicly, the largest push for greater representation has been in STEM, something I find extremely unfair.
I'm not saying discrimination or under-representation in the workplace isn't an issue; truly it is.
Rather, what I am proposing is that we focus more on the issue of these other fields--non-STEM ones--where men are in some cases >99% of the workforce. Why are we not looking to get better representation there? I feel like making women in STEM the largest issue, is like the chief of police in Detroit saying that petty theft (not gang violence) is the ultimate enemy the city is facing.
Of course both are bad, and both ought to be eliminated, but it would seem to be clear that the issue that is not in the spotlight--women in these other fields--is far worse than the one that is in the spotlight.
Source on statistics: https://www.cbs.nl/en-gb/news/2005/47/top-ten-male-and-female-dominated-occupations
While this article is increasingly relevant for today's changing STEM field. However, I am curious of your thoughts on this. As the older generations start to retire, are you expecting to see an increase in women working in STEM fields? From women that I have talked with, going into STEM fields or that have worked in these fields, and from my own experience in industry: it seems as though the majority of the older generation is discriminatory and sexists towards women. Although none of their reasons are truly valid or appropriate, they seem to have some means for justification of these remarks. On the contrary the younger generations, probably starting at the Millennial generation, is far more excepting and has a greater desire to get women into said STEM field. This may just be my experience but I would be interested in your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI think that the older generation was raised with the expectations that women were meant to stay home and maintain the household. I have had mentors that were older and were incredibly welcoming towards me so, this is not true across the board. I would argue that stereotypically older men tend to hold on to more dated views of women in the workplace. The fact of the matter is that people live longer meaning that they retire later so this may not be an issue of biding your time.
DeleteI think your post covered a lot of great points. It is especially important that you made this for those who are effected by this at MTU, being a male dominated university. I hope more people speaking out about this would help younger girls realize that it is okay to want to pursue a career in the STEM fields. I especially enjoyed the added video about mansplaining as I feel like a lot of men may not even realize they're doing it. Do you think that as time goes on we'll see an eventual decrease or stop to these behaviors? Overall I really enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteI think that more and more people are becoming conscious of these type of behaviors. This new recognition has been incredible for the decrease in these type of behaviors. I think that men and women alike are trying to be more conscious of what they are doing. Over time I think that these behaviors will decrease. These fields are already better than what they were 50 years ago but we still have more progress to make.
DeleteAs I recall, from class computer science is one STEM field where gender percentages are massively skewed towards males. I remember recently Riot Games came under fire for their work culture. I belive it was called similar to "locker room culture" wherein people tend to act without concern for other feeling. Things like throwing casual insults at each other, slapping each others butts, and just acting somewhat vulgar were the norm. If this is the case for a lot of companies its no wonder why the field of CS has become so male dominated. It's like a cycle of self destruction. The workplace is primarily male, so the culture becomes more male focused. In result, women feel more uncomfortable working with them, and the companies can only hold on to male employees, furthering the culture divide. I think in order to overcome this, there will need to be a big shift in workplace expectations. A more casual workplace shouldn't be an excuse for a lack of professionalism.
ReplyDelete