Opinion
Special pieces about current issues in the STEM field.
Photo by Ana Cabrera
“I felt like I couldn’t succeed in my major because I didn’t do well in high school chemistry—people in my courses were a lot more familiar with STEM subjects, which led me to feeling discouraged,” says Bianca Pacheo, a third-year biology student at UCSC and the Cluster 9 fellow. She remarks that a majority of her struggles as a woman in STEM lies solely in not feeling confident in her ability to succeed, and feeling like she can’t do it. This issue can be seen in many women who want to pursue STEM. Some young girls and women may not believe in their abilities to succeed in STEM due to the lack of representation of women in the STEM field, leading them to feel uncomfortable and discouraged looking at the male-dominated STEM field. As observed by Northwestern University’s Genevieve Carlton, Ph.D., “Today, women don't have nearly as many role models or potential mentors as men.” Many are not exposed to the accomplishments of women in STEM, which makes it important to emphasize that there have been many women who impacted the STEM Field, from Rosalind Franklin to Marie Curie. This representation is greatly lacking in today’s world.
|