Role Models Wanted! How (and Why) to Seek out Good Role Models in STEM

At Wogrammer we know stories have the power to inspire, connect and create a positive narrative about being a woman in the tech industry. Our stories increase the visibility of diverse and empowering role models and foster a deeper sense of belonging for women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. And it’s not just about creating a good feeling, it’s about creating systemic change. So, we invited Dr. Emily Harburg, co-founder of Brave Initiatives, to share insights from her research in Technology and Social Behavior to illuminate exactly why role models are so powerful, especially for women in STEM.

Confidence is critical for success in any field, but even more so for women in STEM. But how do you build your confidence? Research suggests that good role models can help! Seeing examples of people whom you admire and aspire to become can illustrate possible paths to take, as well as missteps to avoid. This article highlights practical tips for identifying the right role models, as well as suggestions for where to find them.

Confidence is critical: As a woman in STEM having confidence is a must. Research suggests that confidence encourages you to persevere through adversity and push past setbacks that inevitably arise in complex technical work. Confidence also helps you perform to your full potential and achieve your goals by increasing your likeliness to view obstacles as attainable and to motivate pushing through set back [Dweck 1986]. But building confidence in STEM can be difficult, particularly when you are new to technical work and do not feel that you have adequate support around you.

Role models build STEM confidence: Fortunately, research suggests that confidence is a muscle we can build and that seeing examples of role models helps us build it! Research by Blanton, Crocker, & Miller (2000) found that when women saw examples of positive female role models in STEM fields, they felt more able to work in STEM fields themselves. Another study found that women who could identify strong female role models were more likely to view themselves as capable, career-oriented, confident, and instrumental at their jobs.

Traits to look for in STEM role models: So how do we find the right STEM role models to build confidence and what should we look for in a role model? These four tips below for finding strong role models are a good place to start.

1. Do they possess skills you want to build? Look for role models who have a STEM skill-set that you seek to build and a career path that you admire. This can be found researching their job descriptions and skills on LinkedIn, seeing what companies they work for and examining what type of work they do at their jobs, or seeing what they studied in college or grad school. The more interesting their work sounds to you, the more likely they will make a good role model for you as you can learn about their journey to pursuing this type of work.
2. Can you learn from their successes and failures in STEM? It’s good to look for role models with not only big achievements, but also failures that allow you to learn from their setbacks. This will help you learn more about their paths and what takeaways you might apply to your own path. It will also help you create a more realistic definition of success for yourself and help you realize that career paths aren’t linear — rather our paths are filled with ups and downs, curves and zig-zags. This vulnerability of failures and life paths helps us continually build and grow stronger together as a female workforce.
3. Can you relate to them? Research suggests you should find role models who share identities and values that are important to you — whether they be based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or more (Fisher & Margolis, 2002). Finding examples of people similar to you reminds you that it’s possible for you, as well. (Of course, there are plenty of stories of diverse and inspiring women in engineering on Wogrammer!)
4. Do they inspire you? Good role models motivate you and make you realize your own potential. Be sure to look for people who motivate you to be at your best! If you find someone that does, watch videos and interviews of them to learn from the way they talk, present their work, and carry themselves as women in STEM.

Finding a good STEM role model: Beyond the amazing stories on Wogrammer, you can also find role models by watching TED talks online, attending women in tech conferences like GraceHopper, participating in programs with strong role models like Brave Initiatives, iMentor, Black Girls Code, and Girls Who Code. In addition, looking at paths of high-level people you admire on LinkedIn and Wikipedia can be another good activity. And if you find someone that particularly resonates with you, send them a note asking them to connect for 15 minutes. Do not get discouraged if they do not respond — they just might!

Dr. Emily Harburg ● Co-founder at Brave Initiatives

Dr. Emily Harburg is a co-founder at Brave Initiatives, a nonprofit dedicated to helping girls build a better world with code. She has worked as a researcher at Disney and Facebook; and co-founded the nonprofit Youth Lead the Change. Emily has a Ph.D. in Technology & Social Behavior from Northwestern, and a B.A. in Social Anthropology and Psychology from Harvard. Learn more about her work at www.emilyharburg.com, email her at emily@braveinitiaitves.com, or connect with her on Twitter @eharburg.