I spoke to STEM women about underrepresentation, role models, and the changing landscape

Three years ago, my older sister Akriti graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biochemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, ranked as the #7 engineering school in the world. As a freshman, she entered 2013’s class with 33 percent females and 67 percent males, spending her four years as a part of the Chemistry fraternity, a summer orientation (FASET) leader, and conducting undergrad research with soft-shell nanoparticles in those trendy lab goggles.

When my hometown girlfriends came back from Tech for the summer, we sat down to laugh about four hour labs and 10-point curves in our science classes, and of course all the nerdy boys. As a school, Georgia Tech has been pushing for the inclusion and production of female graduates – I had taken Calc 2/3 there my senior year of high school and seen the growing numbers myself. I was amazed to hear some of the technical challenges and feats GT women are diving into from my friends, despite their minority roles in their majors.

Even at GT, sexism still exists

Reena, Industrial Engineering, 2019

When a lot of girls hear STEM, they are turned away. Everyone imagines a pale, nerdy guy hugging a physics textbook. I’ve been asked, “Why are you working so hard?” when I hear undertones of “You’re gonna have to give up your job anyway.” That’s something that only a girl will go through.

Yes, there is a lot of equalization is the STEM field; it’s just that there are so, SO many males here that say sexism isn’t a thing anymore. But they’ve never been asked that question. A female EE major, one of two in a class, will walk in dressed cute, and some peers and even professors will think that she’s going to withdraw. And it sucks. There’s that underlying feeling of, “I’m different.” I’ve told someone that I’m in a sorority and they ask if I’m a business major. I don’t know where that question comes from, but all I think is why the heck is that the first question you ask? Some people take it as I don’t belong, but so far I’m looking at it as I’m just a cooler catch.

And it’s not just women feeling the heat

Anu, Chemical Engineering, 2013

Being in the Middle East, women usually aren’t hired for technical roles within power plants simply because it’s never been done before. But apart from that, my nationality often plays a big role in applying for jobs.

Having gotten a degree from GT and being a female didn’t matter in my case because I wasn’t American and didn’t have the rights to work in the US. That set my career back and it was something I wasn’t anticipating. I moved in with my parents in Dubai and with their support, applied to any and every job I could. Having no work experience didn’t help either, something any engineering graduate may run into; however, I was lucky enough to find an unpaid internship for a year and half until I actually got hired. It’s a personal struggle where my patience was tested intensely. I just took the plunge and hoped for the best.

But these social impediments are on their way out

Maddie, Industrial Engineering, 2019

To be honest, I have not seen women at Tech treated differently in a STEM field; people treat you like any other person. The only underrepresentation I have seen is that in certain classes the ratio of males to females is relatively high. My take on this is that the more males there are, the better the chance I will have in finding a boyfriend, haha. But in all seriousness, as society progresses, we are beginning to look at the merits of people, not just their social situation.

I know a BME major who won the Inventure Prize at Georgia Tech by creating a portable and sanitary toilet to install in third world countries. She went on to start two companies, and be featured in Atlanta’s 30 under 30 (she is 24 right now). We award those who have great successes, whether male or female.

And we are inspired by other ladies

Akriti, Biochemistry, 2013

I believe that the best way to equalize men and women is to start during childhood (bring on the Marie Curie dolls over Malibu barbies, lol!). A Tech student as a part of the Women’s Recruitment team conducted a demo at my high school years ago. She was a Polymer, Textile and Fiber engineering student who was passionate about her field. This encounter really struck me because I had never imagined that a woman would be designing bullet-proof helmets and biodegradable money.

I realized then that it was a result of my environment – I had boxed women out of fields like this. What I like about Tech is that as a school with STEM at its heart, it attempts to override those unspoken rules about what fields a woman can work in. I spent my years at Tech delivering more demos to more high schools.

It means sacrifice, but also success

Shruti, Biology/Pre-Med, 2013

While the world and society is slowly changing for the better, there continues to remain significant pressure on women to pursue non-STEM fields with the thought that a slightly less “intense and demanding” career will allow them to be successful and present wives and mothers. I would like women who are considering a STEM career to remember that they are superheroes and that it is possible to do it all.

I’ve seen successful women physicians (my grandma being #1) who have used their knowledge and expertise with challenging patients. My mom is a computer scientist-turned elementary school math teacher who has instilled a love of learning and critical thinking in her young third grade class. I’ve seen women engineers design products such as monitoring devices for premature babies that will have a huge impact on a global scale.

Work-life balance is a struggle, but it is extremely doable. Do what makes you happy and what makes you feel fulfilled, and don’t let anyone deter you from what has classically been seen as a “man’s world.”

No matter how hard it gets, always remember where that love for STEM…well, stems

Meagan, Biochemistry, 2019

When I was much younger, my sights were set on becoming a veterinarian. Around 11 years old, though, I realized how much I loved writing and distanced myself from anything STEM (although I still loved learning about medicine/health/animals). I thought STEM sounded boring, plus my science experiments always went wrong and I thought I wasn’t “meant” for science.

In 8th grade physical science, I was lucky enough to have Ms. Salomon as a teacher. Amidst memorizing the periodic table and designing balloon cars, I found myself loving the material and the creativity involved in the scientific process. We read The Story of Light by Ben Bova and E=mc^2 by David Bodanis, and I discovered Cecilia Payne, astronomer and astrophysicist extraordinaire, when I was writing my research paper for the class. I still look up to Payne as a STEM role model today, and I even have the research paper I wrote with Ms. Salomon’s marks on it saved in my closet to pull out when I need encouragement.

The biggest thing that has encouraged me to keep pursuing science was the encouragement I got from Ms. Salomon. I don’t think I’ve ever told her this (although I really should), but I distinctly remember her telling me right after an awards ceremony that she thought I’d be successful in science. She was a tough teacher and I’d worked so hard all year, and respected and loved her as a teacher so much, I can’t even put into words how much her encouragement meant to me.

I’ve been lucky enough to have outstanding female STEM teachers, professors, and role models ever since then, and I don’t think I would be pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science at Georgia Tech without them.