Introduction to Gender Discrimination Among STEM Careers
It has been shown that women within the science, technology, engineering and math fields have been treated unfairly regarding gender discrimination, wage gaps in comparison to that of male salaries, and reported sexual harassment by that of females. In a study that was conducted by Pew Research Center, it was found that 50% of women (that participated in the study) reported being discriminated for their gender within the workplace (Funk & Parker, 2020) In fact, women also reportedly admitted to experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace far more than men did within the study results of 2017. Education in regards to STEM as started earlier for men and women, the first introduction can happen when the students are in high school. Often there is still a gap, more boys are likely to be involved than girls, but there has been a decrease over the years. The education continues on when arriving at universities, but this is where the gap widens, only around 20% of women will earn their bachelor’s degree, and the percentage continues to decrease when going on to higher levels of education including their masters and when they plan to actually enter the work field (Hill, Corbett and St. Rose, 2010). There has been improvement for this at the university level, the STEM program has been encouraged to add in broader courses to help gain the recruitment of the female students and adding in more female facilities (Hill, Corbett and St. Rose, 2010). The purpose of the facilities is to provide these women a more safe working/learning environment in hopes that it will drive them to continue on within their STEM education and not make them feel uncomfortable due to the environment being so men dominated (Hill, Corbett and St. Rose, 2010). The gap continues to be there due to the implicit bias which is making judgement and assumptions based on the stereotypes that you have heard/learned and it is something that is not done on purpose, simply the first thought that comes to mind. For this field, that is very much present, often when you hear the terms “science, math, technology, or engineering” you believe that it is a man who is in that field/earning that degree, why (Hill, Corbett and St. Rose, 2010)? There has been such a strong stereotype placed on STEM over the years, that it is very difficult to break, which could be one of the reasons that there is still such a gap between men and women within the program. There was a study held a Harvard University that was a set of questions to test implicit bias over this concept, most of the results came back to the stereotypes of women not being component for a “masculine” job and that they are only seen to be fit for the position if they have had clear success (Hill, Corbett and St. Rose, 2010). Gender discrimination among the women within the STEM field seems to be a work in progress, based on the many and many of years that discrimination against women in a more “masculine field” has always been an issue. One can not say if the discrimination will begin to vanish for the women, but continuing education of others within and not in the field about equal rights is key to help put a stop to it. In order to continue the fight for their well-deserved equal rights for the women they must continue their education within this field and prove that gender should not have any role in deciding what you can be educated in and what your career is to be.
Why care about this topic?
Though these subjects have been brought to light within the last few recent years, the problems of these incidents still occur today. It is very important to identify such a growing problem within many career fields accompanied by STEM studies. I thought a great way to get first-hand experience was to interview a good friend of mine, by the name of Courtney, who is currently in her last year of civil engineering. She completed two co-ops last year; one in Columbus and the other in Cincinnati. I have composed three questions for her to answer during our interview.
Injustices within Engineering: Interview Questions
Question #1: What effects of injustices (say gender injustices) have you observed within the field of engineering thus far into your career? With these effects, how has your perception of the field changed in your opinion?
Transcribed Response: I have faced multiple injustices within my career, whether it be in school or in the workplace. Within school, it was disheartening to feel the difference between men and women, whereas it was shocking for a young female to take the role of an engineer. Not only has it affected my social life but it has also affected the opportunities given from my University. We sat at nearly a one to eight ratio of women to men and only male professors. I was talked poorly to and was treated as less of an individual because I was a woman. In most cases, this has pushed me to work harder and be the best engineer possible. I have made myself grow in ways that will help me to be successful without my gender being involved, like my social skills, software skills and voicing my importance in this study, for myself and for those that cannot speak up for themselves. Although it can be discouraging at times, I believe it is very important to break this stigma of engineers and continue to support women who are successful as the minority.
Question #2: Within your experiences (internships, co-ops, etc.), has the gender wage gap ever been mentioned? If so, please explain how this topic was brought up and the ways in which it made you feel.
Transcribed Response: Gender wage gap has never been an issue within my company – all men and women at the same level were receiving the same pay and benefits. Although I do know it is prevalent in some places. I believe it is very unfair and you should be getting paid for the time, effort and your ability to do your job, not paid based on your gender. In my company I have experienced people telling me I will be more successful than other men in the company or I will be able to move up faster just because I am a woman. This is very disheartening because I don’t think your gender affects the way you work and I would never want to be promoted into a position out of pity or for the company’s benefit (minority grants, extra money, or minority bragging rights for the company).
Question #3: Do you feel as if there is a mistreatment of genders within your field of study?
Transcribed Response: I do think there is mistreatment in the engineering field, I believe men tend to sexualize us. Nearly 50% of women that are engineers have experienced sexual harassment in either their higher education or in the workplace. Unfortunately I became one of the 50% when I was only twenty years old, working my internship. It can be something that is very hard to speak up about, but if you don’t speak up it will continue to happen to you or other females. Thankfully my company helped me through this traumatic experience, the man was fired after a long investigation with HR but I was not the only victim from this man, five females before me have now came forward with sexual harassment allegations against him that were all deemed to be true. I was offered therapy and paid leave, but in the end that experience will affect me for the rest of my career. We need to make gender dominant careers more inclusive to the minorities. Diversity is what completes everything because in the end if everyone was the exact same, nothing would get accomplished.
Courtney Brown
The University of Toledo
Civil Engineering/Construction Management
Here’s What You May Not Know about the Ads You’ve been Watching Everyday!
It’s time we say out with the old and in with the new to our favorite Super Bowl commercials, billboard advertisements, and social media promotions! Though we’ve all seen our fair share of these ads, what we may notice is the objectification that permeates deep within these pass along flyers. In simple terminology, objectification can be described as the act of personifying animate things into mere objects. Now at this point you must be thinking, “what’s so bad about objectification?” Like most things, objectification can manifest into harmful forms. This brings us to today’s focus: sexual objectification in the media. Specifically, many sources and outlets have taken it upon themselves to manipulate female depiction in order to attract audiences. As we continue, we’ll explore how different advertisements have acted on sexual objectification.
Sex Appeal – The New Way to Sell Underwear?
Here is just one of the many recent examples of sexual objectification in the media. Though Calvin Klein’s goal is to sell beer to prospective customers, they portray women in revealing clothes and a submissive position in order to garner attention. At first glance, this image may seem as anything but harmful. However, closer analysis tells us that the characteristics this woman exhibits builds on the existing stereotypes held against females from the early ages. These images further instill these gender stigmas, especially with younger audiences.
Calvin Klein, an world-renowned retail brand, depicts a man and women
positioned in a sexual fashion with the purpose of advertising clothes to viewers.
What’s the Deal with Sexual Objectification Anyways?
Like I mentioned before, sexual objectification is nothing new. In fact, women, in particular, have faced acts of dehumanization and degradation for centuries. Tracing back to the beginnings, we can see instances of this injustice in the gender roles assigned to women. Reflecting back on America’s colonial times, National Geographic details that the traditional family consisted of a husband who controlled the household’s day to day functions and a wife that focused on tending the children, among other miscellaneous chores like cleaning or cooking (National Geographic Society, 2020). Systems such as the government haven’t made it any easier on females to receive equal treatment when compared to their male counterparts. To exemplify, women didn’t earn the right to vote until the 19th Amendment in the early 1900s, which further alienated them from aligning with the
majority. Moreover, their ability to own property wasn’t recognized till the mid 1800s with the passage of The Married Women’s Property Act. Even then, they still were required to depend on their husbands. Unfortunately, we see the effects that these systems have had on how women are viewed in today’s society through these promotions.
What Now?
Sometimes people just suck. When it comes to systemic injustices like the sexual objectification in the media, blame can only be placed on society. Letting problems like this run rampant only strengthens the stigmas surrounding women. It’s time we put a stop to this by acknowledging how destructive media platforms can be, whether it’s Calvin Klein’s hypersexualized image or anything else. Though Hannah Montana says, “Everybody makes mistakes. Everybody has those days,” we cannot continue to dismiss our mistakes like they’re of no weight. Instead, let’s make a promise to each other that we’ll speak up about whatever systemic injustice we come across. After all, such a small civic duty can progress into a bigger, better, and brighter future.
Works Cited:
Funk, Cary, and Kim Parker. “Women and Men in STEM Often at Odds Over Workplace Equity.” Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project, Pew Research Center, 21 Aug. 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/.
Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St. Rose, A. (2010). Why so few research – AAUW. Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://www.aauw.org/app/uploads/2020/03/why-so-few-research.pdf.
National Geographic Society. (2020, February 19). Women and children in Colonial America. National Geographic Society. Retrieved November 17, 2021, from https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/women-and-children-colonial-america/.
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