Women in STEM Caucus

In the spirit of the 50th anniversary of coeducation at Yale College, I want to shine light on a historic moment I came across in the news recently: the creation of the first Congressional Women in STEM Caucus. This bipartisan group of representatives headed by four congresswomen is dedicated to addressing the deficit of women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields. By partnering with organizations ranging from universities to federal research agencies to private institutions, this committee aims to promote policies and efforts to increase gender diversity in both research fields and the STEM workforce.

To me, the creation of this caucus is very promising yet long overdue, given the fact that only 30% of the world’s researchers are women. Female representation in leadership of the STEM industry is even lower, with 90–95% of biotech companies having male founders and with women composing less than 10% of biotech and pharma CEOs — statistics that have changed little over the past century.

As I reflect on those who have influenced my own path in biomedical research, I think of Ms. Kalée Tock, my high school chemistry teacher; Dr. Erica Herzog, the principal investigator of the pulmonary research lab where I currently work; and Dr. Carolyn Mazure, my mentor at Women’s Health Research at Yale. These inspirational women have shown me that it is possible to succeed and excel in STEM fields as a woman. And they have offered me the support and resources necessary to do so.

I hope that in the future, all girls and women can be as fortunate and grateful as I am to find role models like mine. I look forward to seeing what this new congressional caucus accomplishes!