GENDER REPRESENTATION IN THE WORKPLACE

My name is Ari Haven, I am a female high school senior, and I want to be a mechanical engineer. When you read that, what was your reaction? Were you surprised that a girl wanted to be an engineer? Or were you happy that I am “representing women” in a field that is uncommon for women to work in? Or maybe you just shook your head and said, “good luck.” If you had any of those responses, I have heard all of them before when someone asks me, “what are you going to study in college?”

 

I go to high school with people from all over the city of Philadelphia. My peers represent an array of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and countries of origin. Through discussions and collaboration, I have come to appreciate the differences between my classmates. My peers and I learn from each other's unique experiences, and bond over similar ones. Being surrounded by people that are different than me has improved my learning experiences because I am exposed to ideas, experiences, and opinions that are not familiar to me.

 

The diversity in my school, however, does not seem to translate to diversity inside the engineering classes. In my current engineering elective class, I am one of the two people in the class who are not white males. The lack of diversification in STEM classrooms tend to lead to the lack of diversification in STEM fields. Of all the people working as mechanical engineers --the field I hope to go into-- only 7.9% of  them are women according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. If even a high school like  Science Leadership Academy  (SLA), which prides itself on the diversity of its student body, cannot manage to successfully diversify the STEM classrooms, then how can we expect other schools to? I know that there is a lot of work still to be done to encourage the diversity of the STEM fields, and I want to have a large part in it.

 

The most important thing that I have learned from going to SLA is that the diversity of a classroom enhances the diversity of ideas. When the people surrounding you do not have the same background as you, a discussion can evolve into a brainstorming forum where new ideas and solutions are presented. Without a diversity of  ideas and perspectives in STEM fields, solutions to important challenges may be overlooked.

 

In STEM industries, 35% of women nationally are told they should work fewer hours because of their children and 64% of women find themselves having to back up their work and suggestions with extra evidence just because their coworkers don’t have faith in their competence. While studies show that women across the country in STEM fields feel supported by the other women in their office, one fifth of women in STEM fields feel like they are competing with other women in the office for the “woman’s spot.” The drastic imbalance of women versus men in a STEM career is clear, on average there are three men to every woman in a STEM career.
 

From first hand experience, I know that a variety of opinions and experiences in the classroom can hugely improve the quality of learning. The first, and more obvious way that I will help the diversification of the industry is by simply becoming an engineer. One more female engineer changes the gender ratio even if only by a little. Beyond that however, I hope to find a position as an engineer where I can talk to students at a young age, or encourage outreach at the company I work with, to show kids that any of them can be engineers, too. Many people become interested in careers when they can relate to the people they see doing the job. Since engineers, scientists, and mathematicians in today’s society are mostly white men, it is hard for girls and people of color to see themselves in a similar career. However, if I can help give them role models in STEM careers that look like them, I will be helping the diversification in the STEM industry.

 

I no longer want to be the only girl in an engineering classroom. I want to be at the forefront of the process to diversify the STEM industry. I want to solve the world’s issues as a mechanical engineer and be successful in a career I love, all while showing the STEM community that diversity helps everyone succeed.

 

Going into this project, I was excited to have an opportunity to create my own learning opportunities. My partner Ella and I were inspired to investigate how women are treated in underrepresented fields because it made us think about what careers we wanted to go into in the future. Our goal was to reveal the obstacles and experiences that women in underrepresented fields experience in the workplace, how they affect their lives, and how they overcome or don’t overcome the issues. However, after interviewing multiple women working in STEM and business careers, our findings showed that if you worked at the right company and surrounded yourself with other people that supported you in your endeavors, then you are less susceptible to marginalizing experiences because of your gender. This was unexpected, but very promising news to hear! We decided to change our focus to how things have gotten better for women in underrepresented fields such as STEM, and how we can help it continue to get better. By having a panel for the underclassmen, we hoped to bring awareness to the topic by educating people about the topic that might go into an underrepresented field in the future.

I hope you enjoy this project that we have worked so hard on!