In February, as we celebrated “International Day of Women and Girls in Science” and “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”, I reflected on what is it to be a woman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), and what we could do to help create more inclusive environments.
Now, as we celebrate Women’s History Month, I intend to share some of those thoughts with you.
It is no secret that women remain underrepresented in STEM fields. Based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics, for the last 15 years, women have consistently earned more than half of the degrees conferred by postsecondary institutions. However, in STEM fields, women tend to earn a third of the total awarded degrees and the numbers drop even more when it comes to Black, Hispanic, and American Indians or Alaska Natives women.
Nevertheless, it is also known that women have made some of the greatest contributions to events in history and to the advancements of STEM fields. Some of my favorite women in history include Katherine Johnson for her contributions to America’s aeronautics and space programs; Grace Hopper for her contributions in programing language development; and Edith Clarke for paving the way for other women in STEM and in engineering in the U.S. by becoming the first woman to be professionally employed as an electrical engineer.
Still, we remain underrepresented.
As may have happened to other women in engineering fields, my first encounter with this reality was during a Circuits Systems class, one of my first engineering classes in college. I was 1 of 4 women in a class of 25 students. With the passing of the years, as I submerged myself into the engineering and higher education world, I noticed a reduction of women in my field. I noticed it while I was working toward my undergraduate degree, and I still notice it now in graduate school. It seems as I advance in my career, there are fewer and fewer women around me.
So, what is it like to be a woman in STEM?
