I came across this incident a few days after it happened and while it made me upset, I can't say I'm surprised. A female blogger who posts all things "hard" science on her FaceBook page posted a link to her twitter account on her Facebook. Her twitter account revealed that she was female. Her Facebook account gave no indication as to her gender. Her page is called "I F***ing Love Science" and it is an opportunity for her to engage society with science information. What was upsetting but not surprising were the comments made after people found out she was female. Many people responded saying they were shocked to find out she was female. Others were shocked that people assumed she was male. I am unsure of how many Facebook "likes" she had before this incident but currently, she has 4.4 million likes. This tells me that she was popular way before this incident. The article below explains the incident and gives links to her Twitter and Facebook page (Check out March 20th on her Facebook page) and the author makes a good point that we can't be too sure why people were surprised to find out the blogger was female. The author suggests it could have been the humor or cussing on the blog, or it could be the science. Either way, I think the comments of her followers bring to light the stereotypes of women in the hard sciences. It is incidences like these that make it easier to understand why women would not want to major in a STEM field and consequently, why female undergraduates do not have role models in the STEM fields that they can look to for support. As a future practitioner in academic advising in a hard science, it will be important for me to understand the female students and their particular experiences in a male-dominated field.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/03/22/new-online-debate-over-women-and-science
A few questions to think about:
How can we, as practitioners or researchers, individually and systemically help to debunk the stereotype of women in hard sciences?
Alternatively, in female dominated professions, like education and nursing, do the same conversations exist about attempting to diversify the fields? If so, what steps are being taken?
This is really interesting, because I supervise and train a group of 24 Orientation Student Leaders and 100+ Welcome Days Leaders to help with incoming students in the fall and during Welcome Days. We have spent a good amount of time on avoiding stereotypes in regards to working with first year students and providing stereotyped information. We have discussed about just because you are working with an asian student doesn't mean you need to only share the resources about math and engineering, or just because a girly girl from the suburbs comes up to you and asks when Quad Day is, doesn't mean that you direct them to the sororities.
ReplyDeleteI think I might share this piece with my staff! Thanks Suzi!
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DeleteThanks for the post Jordan. That's good to know that you are working on teaching about avoiding sterotypes...I am interested to know more about what types of techniques or resources you use in your training? I like the stereotypes you mentioned, but how does that look in a training situation...Thanks again
DeleteThanks for this post Suzi. I think STEM initiatives are a good step, but simultaneously promoting role models is imperative. It's also a good point that your bring regarding diversifying "traditional" (although through Antebellum time period, men dominated the teaching profession) women dominated fields, Building confidences in STEM fields, as well as philosophy, is important.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot can be done by changing the way science is taught in the younger years too. By the time children reach middle school, many are already turned off, or scared, by science.At the college level, it might be worthwhile to promote general and interdisciplinary sciences classes as a form of recruitment. One of my favorite classes in undergrad was a cross-listed nursing class, perfect for the young lady that was intimidated by science.
It's refreshing to know that you are soon to be in this position and are thinking of proactive ways to challenge the status quo.
On an international level...I know that Saudi Arabia doesn't accept women driving cars, but they do promote women in STEM fields and are very proud of a lady named Ghada Al-Mutairi, who is a Saudi Scientist. They also currently heavily fund training for men in nursing.
Thank you !
Amira