International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Podcast Transcripts
Since the year 2016, every year on February 11, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. For women in STEM, this is an important tribute. Since the beginning of women in science, the numbers have been minimal. History shows this.
From 2700 BCE to the first century, there were only about 35 noted women in science. Included among these women were:
- Egyptian physician Peseshet around 2500 BCE
- Mesopotamian chemist Tapputi-Belatekallim in 1200 BCE,
- Pythagorean philosopher Theano in the sixth century BCE
- Greek astronomer Aganice of Thessaly in the second century BCE
- Chinese alchemist Fang in the first century BCE
Between the first and fifth centuries in our current era, that number dropped to about 30. Included among those thirty women were:
- Pandrosion of Alexandria, a mathematician who was initially believed to be a man
- Hypatia of Alexandria, the mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who was murdered by church monks
- Saint Fabiola of Rome, the nurse who tended to the homeless and prison inmates
- and Metrodora, the Greek physician and gynecologist who authored many works on gynecology
The sixth through the 10th centuries were even worse as I have found in my research that there are less than ten female scientists. This includes:
- the seventh-century Muslim nurse Rufaida Al-Aslamia
- the ninth century Tunesian scientist Fatima al-Fihri, who founded the world’s first university in Fez
- the tenth-century Chinese chemist Ken Hsien-seng
Then by the 15th century, the numbers grew again. There were about 65 noted female scientists.
By Unknown author — Miniatur aus dem Rupertsberger Codex des Liber Scivias., Public Domain
By the 19th century, that number grew by the hundreds. By the 20th century, that number increased by the thousands and then by the millions. Unfortunately, we stop at two million. Today, women accounted for only 28% of the 7.8 million researchers in the world. That means that there are only 2.3 million female science researchers in the world. In other words, for approximately every eight men in STEM, there are only two women in the STEM work force.
We are not even at fifty percent.
Even though almost 50% of women in college are STEM majors, that number drops once they work their way up into graduate school. By the time they get into the workforce in STEM-based jobs, women constitute only 28% of the STEM workforce.
Several analogies apply to these statistics, one of which is called the leaky pipeline. This analogy is a pipeline that shows where we start to lose women in STEM majors, in graduate school, and in the STEM workforce.
However, instead of labeling the loss of women in STEM as a leaky pipeline, I prefer to refer to this challenge as obstacles. Women face barriers in STEM majors and the STEM workforce. Metaphors are important, but it is also crucial that we do not lose sight of what we are really dealing with. We are faced with obstacles.
There are so many hurdles and challenges for women in STEM that it would take several podcasts to list them. Nevertheless, I will name several.
1. Not enough resources for girls to immerse themselves in STEM.
Though we have coding camps for girls and organizations for women in STEM, many of those camps and organizations cost money. There are not enough resources in inner-city communities. In the United States, black and Latino girls are less likely to find interest in STEM because there is not enough financial support for their schools to support female STEM programs. In other countries, there is a complete lack of STEM programs. One way to overcome this obstacle is for international schools to incorporate and structure math and science courses in High School and Secondary school where there are none. For schools that do offer math and science, hire female educators with a background in math and science.
2. Bias among our peers, advisors, administrators, and society.
In a Pew Research Center study, of the men in STEM jobs, 19% of men experienced gender-related discrimination. In contrast, for women in STEM jobs, 50% of women have experienced gender-related discrimination.[i] We can fix this by paying more attention to this discrimination and calling it out when we see it. Additionally, universities and corporations need to make a concerted effort to address the lack of gender diversity. On a personal level, for those women working in STEM, make a point to share your commonalities with your female peers. These commonalities create a stronger female community.
3. Lack of support and encouragement
Our pursuits apply to all levels of STEM, including education from Kindergarten through college, developmental programs, financial aid, legal aid, and corporate programming. By supporting girls and women throughout their entire academics, it will boost confidence so that women won’t feel so isolated and alone in male-dominated environments. Furthermore, ladies, it is necessary for us to qualify potential role models for ourselves. Find other women who are not peers but instead are advancing. Ask them for advice. For women in administration or management, make a point to reach out to the novices who feel lost and overwhelmed. Tearing down the obstacles of insecurity and lack of confidence requires teamwork from all women. There are also many encouraging women in STEM online, on social media, in the workforce, in the university, and at other universities. Find them, reach out to them. Also, find support from other men in STEM. Men are not our enemies. No doubt, many men in STEM want to see us on equal footing too. Sometimes your greatest ally can be the most unexpected individual.
4. Lack of help
Any mom will tell you that childcare is disproportionally required of women. No doubt, pregnancy significantly disrupts a woman’s path to a career in STEM. Even when the male partner is on board with distributing the parenting equally, the patriarchal structure dictates otherwise. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that in 2014, only 44% of community colleges across the country provided childcare. Additionally, for women go into the workforce, the lack of services and available resources remains minimal. In 2016, data from the National Survey for Children’s Health found that in the United States, almost two million parents of children age five and younger either had to quit their job, not take a job, or extensively readjust their work schedule, sometimes to work nights because they either couldn’t afford childcare or could not get childcare.[ii] Any human would agree that being a mom is not a curse. So why do we have a system in place that hinders mothers who want to succeed in STEM?
5. Paternity leave
Corporations need to offer men paternity leave. In the world, only 92 countries offer paternity leave. That is less than 50% of the world’s countries. The United States is among the larger percent that does not offer paternity leave. Even though the U.S. offers leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, it only covers 60% of Americans. Furthermore, this leave is unpaid. The corporate and collegiate STEM structure is unfair for everybody.
6. Colleges and universities lack a comprehensive overview of STEM employees
In other words, the female faculty members in STEM departments are non-existent. Additionally, among university professors 55 and older, women only hold 35% of tenured positions.[iii] By presenting a faculty where women have an equal place at the podium, we can slowly remove this obsolete notion that academia is for men in brown tweed jackets.
7. Stereotypes
The media and society portray women in STEM as fashionably and socially awkward nerds. However, we do not fit this stereotype. We can love science and still love those things that remind us how wonderful it is to be female, black, Asian, bisexual, lesbian, transsexual, or whatever makes you uniquely and beautifully us. There is a world full of brilliant women who do not look or act like Amy Farrah Fowler. Our intelligence proves that we are more than our outer shell, and it is time we are recognized as such.
8. Double Competence
Women feel a great deal of pressure to prove their professional worth. Thus, they work twice as hard and often sacrifice a healthy work-life balance. A study done at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands found that women working in STEM reported higher gender identity threat levels than women working in a non-STEM sector.[iv] Women in STEM perceive that their superiors question their overall ability and their commitment to their work. This imposed doubt is not our imaginations, and the perceptions are real.
9. The earning gap
The earning gap between men’s income and women’s income becomes even larger among underrepresented minorities. Additionally, this pay gap exists once women start a family because domestic priorities begin to outweigh work priorities. In 2013, women in STEM fields made 82% of what their male peers made. This pay gap directly affects who stays in the workforce. This pay gap is why we lose women in the STEM industries.
We cannot deny that companies pay women less than what they pay their male peers.
We cannot deny that there is female harassment in the workplace and academia.
We cannot deny that senior leaders unconsciously and consciously discourage women.
We cannot deny that women feel isolated.
We cannot deny that women are passed over for important assignments.
We cannot deny that corporations deny women jobs even though they are perfectly qualified.
We cannot deny that and corporations and academia deny women promotions.
These obstacles are in place because we are women. There is no other reason. Unfortunately, there are international structures in place that display our gender as a curse.
It is encouraging to see the United Nations change the narrative by implementing this day for all women in STEM. By changing the narrative, people listen, become aware, and make changes. The lack of women in STEM is a global problem. It is so crucial to give women a safe place to feel like they belong. It is imperative to elevate these women to feel confident when they feel intimidated in a male-dominated environment. Women-centric groups, women-centric programs, girl-centric programs are just beginning.
Though we are slowly overcoming these obstacles, it is not enough. We see these obstacles, and we can identify these obstacles. However, these obstacles cannot be eradicated as long as the systemic bias allows them to remain. Women deserve full access and participation in science, technology, and innovation. Access to science is a human right. Girls and women should be allowed to pursue these roles in science without the fear of being held back. International corporations and universities have a unique opportunity to educate and organize the structure to create an environment that fosters women in STEM. Men and women have a unique opportunity to mentor and guide women towards leadership roles. Corporations have a unique opportunity to change the landscape for women and men by providing a work-life balance, flexible work hours, paternity leave, and childcare. Universities have a unique opportunity to hire more women faculty and promote excluded students in STEM. Finally, whether you are a woman, a woman of color, or an LGBTQ woman, we have an opportunity to eradicate the stereotypes by simply being who we are, by being brave, by being seen, by being confident, by being determined, by being courageous, and by being unapologetically intelligent.
[i] “Women in STEM See More Gender Disparities at Work, Especially Those in Computer Jobs, Majority-male Workplaces,” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, last modified December 31, 2019, https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/01/09/women-in-stem-see-more-gender-disparities-at-work-especially-those-in-computer-jobs-majority-male-workplaces/.
[ii] “2 Million Parents Forced to Make Career Sacrifices Due to Problems with Child Care.” Center for American Progress. Last modified September 13, 2017. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/news/2017/09/13/438838/2‑million-parents-forced-make-career-sacrifices-due-problems-child-care/.
[iii] “White Men Dominate Aging Tenure-Track Ranks.” Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Career Advice, Jobs. Last modified February 25, 2020. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2020/02/25/white-men-dominate-aging-tenure-track-ranks.
[iv] Van Veelen, Ruth, Belle Derks, and Maaike D. Endedijk. “Double Trouble: How Being Outnumbered and Negatively Stereotyped Threatens Career Outcomes of Women in STEM.” Frontiers in Psychology 10 (2019). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00150.