Emerson Exchange 365

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I remember answering this question, “A mad scientist!” I was influenced by fictional characters such as Janie in the book Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh and real-life role models like Marie Curie, whose autobiography I was able to procure through a Scholastic Book Club offering. The older I got, the more my dream of being a scientist faded. The older I got, the more I realized that I was a female and being a scientist was not a role occupied by females in West Texas in the 1960’s and ‘70’s. The older I got, the more I realized that I had three basic choices: secretary, nurse, or teacher. Since I was terrible at typing and traumatized by trauma, I decided I would be a teacher. It was not until I was nearly 50 years old and had the opportunity to work as a scientist, conducting chemical research for my graduate degrees, that I was able to fulfill my dream of being a “mad scientist."

I did not let the fact that I was nearly 30 years older than my “peers” in the lab stop me from fully immersing myself in my research. I was aware of all the advantages that they had over me, and I will admit being jealous and coveting those advantages. However, these young women mentored me and loved me. This is what they did; they helped each other and supported each other. These young females were fully prepared for college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) courses, seemingly full of confidence, had experienced years of mentoring in the form of girl STEM camps and the like, and had the advantage of having all that knowledge fresh in their brains. This jealously led me to wonder, if I had been born thirty years later, would I have become a laboratory scientist? This jealously also led me to research why and how some women succeeded in STEM.

In my phenomenological qualitative research study, I interviewed 18 women and 4 men in my search for the perfect route for success in STEM. These participants all had at least one thing in common, at some point in their lives they were interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. Of those 18 women, 14 persisted through the obstacles of the education system and, if old enough, made it through the obstacles of the job market. These women came from different parts of the United States, as well as other countries, and they ran the gamut of age groups, from 19 to 60. I wanted to know what these successful women had in common that helped them to overcome the barriers for women in STEM. What I found was that these women had a great support system, and I will share with you some of their perspectives.     

 Parents 

The participants in my research study that took the STEM path in college had parents that pushed them, encouraged them, and conveyed faith in their daughters’ abilities. As one young participant put it, “But one thing that was definitely good in retrospect is that my mom was really demanding that I like also take some math courses…anyway, I took like a significant amount of math, beyond what was required for a chemistry degree…”   

Many women specifically mentioned their fathers as being the main source of encouragement. This quote, from a highly successful woman in the STEM industry, shows how simple daily interactions made a world of difference in her life:

“My dad has always been a car buff, so I think I got some of my engineering interest from him; I was an only daughter. He would take me to the junkyard if he was trying to find a part. I'd hang out with him in garages. So I was very comfortable being around men in a technical setting. I had basic familiarity. I knew what the tools were. I think I was four years old when I learned the difference between metric and English because I was helping my dad change some spark plugs. He was really just keeping me busy. So he would say go get me my socket set. I'd run off and bring him the socket. He'd say, ‘No, this is the wrong socket set, you're right that this is a socket set, but I need the metric.’ So then he would explain. There was a lesson in the metric. Yeah, my dad and my mom really supported my science-engineering track.”

I recommend this article on how to gain insight into pushy parents and the reason they believe in pushing. You can see that some pushing is helpful rather than harmful for young minds.                    

Mentors

The majority of the “STEM-successful” participants in my study had mentors that encouraged and helped them in their navigation through the rigors of school and work. One female scientist, who currently devotes many volunteer hours to mentoring, had this to say: 

“The mentor tells them they can do it, believe in yourself, look at what you have done so far, um, and then they see another reality. They see a person that they can connect, they can relate that is different than their reality and they jump on it, they really do, it is such a little thing they need, but they need it, they need it. It is not that hard, Robin, it is cheap. We are not talking about a trial or an intervention that costs millions of dollars; we are talking about connection, collaboration, listening, understanding, believing in the other one. Everybody can do it if they really care.”

The right kind of mentoring is hard to find. For more information about mentoring, you can follow sources like PNAS and Lean in.

Peer Groups

Many of the participants in my study were grateful for peer groups that offered supportive and educational relationships. At a deeper level, what they were being offered was a sense of belonging. This quote is from a female physicist who later went on to become an engineer:

“It was in high school that I actually made a group of friends, um, we were all on the medical track and we were competitive with each other, but the healthy competition, not like ‘I want you to lose.’ It’s like I’m competing with you because we are both getting better. I think there were like 8 girls, um, me, my sister and then like 6 others that we competed with in a healthy fashion.”

While its hard to find that organic connection, thanks to technology today we can help foster peer relationships in a healthy way. For more on peer mentoring for women, check out amazing apps like Glassbreakers. 

  School Environment

These successful women enjoyed a school environment that prepared them for the rigors they would face in their future educational settings and job settings. About one third of the women went to an all-girls school, a variable that I had not considered since all-girl schools were not available in the region that I lived. A female biologist told me this about her all-girls school, “if a woman wants to do science, you do science. There were no expectations that you wouldn’t be good at chemistry or physics or biology or math; the school was a fairly high achieving school.”

While I'm not saying all girl schools are the only solution, rigorous secondary coursework is important preparation for college-level courses. When there is community and support anything is possible. For more information on this subject you can read about one school’s strategy to help their low socio-economic students succeed after high school graduation.                                                                             

So, what can we take away from this?  Here's six actions we can all take, today.

1. Reassure students that school is a place for learning and mistakes will not only be made, but used as a learning resource.
2. Engage young females in activities that build confidence.
3. Encourage girls to persevere. Persevering through difficulties ultimately builds self-esteem.
4. Promote a sense of belonging in diverse groups.
5. Motivate young females to be brave and speak up, even at the risk of being wrong. Students who ask questions and engage with the teacher are more likely to make progress on difficult concepts.
6. Guide young females to face fear head-on.