The Importance of Role Models for Women In STEM
Insights on women’s workplace experiences and steps to increase gender equality in STEM
By Lennis Perez
Stories have the power to shift our perspectives and expand our understanding about other people’s experiences. In the case of women and female-identified individuals in STEM, many of their personal stories as the minority in this male dominated field have been kept secret. Yet, in mainstream media, there’s a big push to have more girls interested in STEM.
How can we help these young girls succeed in their journey? We start by sharing the stories of those who’ve gone before them and finding more role models for them to look up to. Role models may be even more important for women than for men: Research finds that 60% of women in STEM careers have been inspired by role models as compared to only 47% of men.
Another important aspect is to evaluate how to help these women build career longevity. Many organizations are investing resources in diversity hiring, but once the individual has entered the workforce, they face other challenges that make it difficult to stay.
Hence the big retention issues known as “the leaky pipeline.” This phenomenon occurs when you find fewer women staying in STEM fields long term, more specifically after the 10 to 15 year mark.
I’m the result of the “leaky pipeline.” After working as an engineer for 16 years, I decided to leave the field. My STEM career wasn’t all positive, and led to multiple burnout experiences. During that time, I noticed many of my female colleagues were also struggling with health issues. This had me asking: What are we missing? Which inspired me to interview other women in STEM about their experiences. From these conversations and stories, the Conversations with Women in STEM About Role Models report was born.
Here’s a sneak peek into some of the experiences and stories shared by women in STEM.
The College Experience: A Lack of Women Professors And Classmates
When it comes to role models for women in STEM throughout their college experience, the landscape gives them a glimpse of what the future holds. Many of the professors teaching engineering and science courses are men. They also find themselves as the striking minority in the classroom.
In 2022, a female mechanical engineering senior at Marquette University was asked what made her feel the most frustration as a woman in STEM, and her response was:
“We still don’t have a 50/50 split in representation: Marquette only got their first female faculty member for Mechanical Engineering two years ago.”
Although some majors see more gender diversity than others, when you look at electrical engineering or computer science majors, the ratio is sometimes less than 1:10 female to male students in the classroom.
On the other hand, in the last 20 years in the U.S. alone, the number of Women Deans of Engineering has significantly increased. According to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) research, the number of women deans of engineering in 2001 was 13, as compared to 2021 where 93 women served as deans of engineering at various universities and colleges.
While increasing interest in young girls to pursue STEM careers is one piece of the puzzle, the education system post-high school must increase faculty diversity to create access to role models that represent them.
Young Professionals Experience: Creating Clear Pathways To Advancement
Once you get these women to graduate with a STEM degree, their experiences during their first few years at work will have a direct impact on their level of satisfaction and commitment to their professional careers.
After asking eight women engineers with less than five years of experience in the industry about their stories, many of them expressed lack of clarity about what was next for them. Some organizations had programs to support them during their first two years, but once that support was removed, many felt pressured to choose a specific trajectory and stick with it.
At this stage, these women notice the systemic bias of “prove-it-again,” where they find themselves continuously having to prove their competencies at work in contrast to their male colleagues.
Companies can shift this experience by including bias training for their team members at all levels. From here, they can establish strategies that will support women and other minority groups to gain confidence and clarity on their professional future.
Mid- to Late-Career Experience: Design Workplaces That Work For Women
Why do women leave? This was a question posed during a recent Fireside Chat hosted by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Women leaving the STEM field complained about lack of infrastructure, especially in the manufacturing space — from not having access to female bathrooms to maternity policies and lactation rooms sometimes being non-existent.
During this Fireside Chat, Janeen Uzzell, CEO of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), shared that the promotion factor is limited and women are not being rewarded the same way as their male counterparts.
Women and other underrepresented groups also noticed a lack of representation in upper management positions. And while women at this stage also experience a lack of clarity on what’s next for them, by this point they feel “it’s too much of a battle” to stay.
Bridging The Gender Gap: Attract And Retain Women By Changing Culture
Women are starting their careers in STEM at a disadvantage. Lack of role models and representation impact their self-confidence. And when the experiences in the workplace continue to remind them of their disadvantages, it’s difficult to find the courage to stay and keep going.
But organizations have the power to change the landscape. Offering bias training, workforce coaching, personal assessments, and continuous feedback with clear milestones along the way is one approach to building a team where minorities can thrive.
Another low-hanging fruit strategy that can help get faster results is to promote women and other underrepresented individuals into positions they should’ve been promoted to in years prior.
According to a Harvard Business Review article, sponsoring junior talent will result in more diverse senior leadership. At the end of the day, it is in the hands of the key decision makers to promote the next generation of leaders within the organization.
The inclusion and retention issues that women in STEM face — along with the lack of role models during their career development — come with different layers of complexity. This is not a “one solution fixes all the problems” situation. Rather, this needs a multi-layer approach to bridge the gap faster.
If you are interested in learning more about the stories of 30 women in STEM and their experiences with role models, you can access the Conversations with Women in STEM About Role Models report here.
