Women Say Discrimination Is a Huge Part of Why So Few Stay in STEM Careers

Similar to Olivia, Whitney faced similar pressures to increase representation not just for women faculty, but specifically for Black women faculty. Whitney completed her PhD in Chemical and Biological engineering as the awardee of two national fellowships. Despite her numerous research accolades, Whitney expressed feeling disheartened and turned off from academia, in part, due to the gendered racial discrimination she says she experienced as a Black woman and as a second-generation immigrant.

As a Black woman student, Whitney’s description of biased interactions with her professors is far from novel. A recentfound that Black women STEM students reported feeling unwelcome in STEM environments and benefit from having professors that share their same racial identity and who can affirm their presence. Unfortunately, Whitney didn’t have any Black science professors in college or graduate school to serve as role models or advocates for her. Oftentimes, she was on her own.

Even as an undergraduate science student, Whitney says she struggled with discrimination. She remembers other students gossiping about her and suggesting that she was only accepted into competitive doctoral programs due to affirmative action. Consequently, she spent most of her time during her early graduate student career afraid to stop working for fear that she would confirm to others and herself that she actually was lazy and undeserving of her position.

Whitney’s impostor syndrome and the way she overworked herself to hide it, aptly describes so many women in STEM’s experiences.

Analogous to Whitney, Olivia also seemed to grapple with severe impostor syndrome as a graduate student due what she describes as a toxic work culture of her research lab and its casual sexism. She often felt that she would be exposed for not being smart enough due to repeated instances of her knowledge being questioned by male students. Over the years, she saw her self-confidence dwindle. Even though she’s now graduated, Olivia still struggles with feeling undeserving of her success.

Misleading headline. This isn't actually about STEM careers, this is about STEM academia. Two very different things.

You would bring some bosses the whole world and they would still ask for more. BobMarley: 'In the abundance of water the fool is thirsty.' Rat race.

Marni_Landry ⬆️

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