It’s not every day that a woman in a science field wins a Nobel Prize, but in 2004, Linda B. Buck did. As she received her award, she addressed all women in STEM; “As a woman in science, I sincerely hope that my receiving a Nobel Prize will send a message to young women everywhere that the doors are open to them and that they should follow their dreams.” While this showed promise for women in STEM, data has recently been uncovered that since 1991, the number of women in computer science has heavily declined. There has been a lot of questions about the lack of women in STEM fields–is it just lack of interest…or are there factors that could be slowly driving women out of these professions?
Social scientists Joan Williams, Katherine Phillips, and Erika Hall of Harvard Business Journal sought to answer this question by conducting a study where they interviewed 60 surveyed 557 women in STEM. They uncovered multiple systemic issues that they speculate to be the forces driving women out of these fields. These are the five biases against women they discovered to be prevalent in the workplace environment of STEM professions.
1 Prove Yourself
According to Williams, Smith and Hall, two thirds of the women interviewed reported having “their successes discounted and expertise questioned.” Broken down by race, 77% of Black women feel that they have to “prove their competence more than others,” the highest of all women. Very few Asian American women reported that racial stereotypes of Asians excelling in science and mathematics helped them. Researchers speculated that the stereotype might work more in favor of Asian men.
2 Think like a man, act like a lady
To be masculine is to be competent, but to be feminine is to be likable. This is basically the “tightrope” that women have to balance on. Be masculine in the way you work, but not in the way you appear and behave. More than a third (34.1%) of women surveyed felt pressure to act in a feminine role, and 53% reported backlash for exhibiting typically masculine behaviors such as “speaking their minds or being decisive.” This is particularly of concern to Black and Latina scientists, because there are uniquely negative associations with them being outspoken. A cancer biologist had reported that she frequently censored herself during lab meetings because she didn’t want to trigger the “angry black woman stereotype.”
3 Once you go baby, you can’t go back…to work?
Opportunities for women are ripe and ready to be taken by younger women without children. Professional women with kids find their commitment being questioned because it’s assumed that “they would lose drive after they had children.” A microbiologist said in an interview that there is an assumption that a woman’s career is just a filler hobby before finding a husband and having children.
4 No one is your friend
Being in a male-dominated field means women have to band together…right? Unfortunately, sometimes women may distance themselves from each other instead. The study found that a fifth of the women surveyed felt that they were “competing with their female colleagues for the ‘woman’s spot.’
5 Segregation
Isolation is a problem that was predominantly found among black and Latina women. Black women (42%) felt that “socially engaging with colleagues would negatively affect perceptions of competence,” 38% of Latina women agreed with this, as well as 37% of Asian American women, and 32% of white women. However, the researchers note that black women most frequently mentioned this pattern of behavior in their interviews. A black microbiologist recalled being excluded from outside work gatherings because her cohorts assumed she would be uncomfortable being the only person of color. Many women said they didn’t talk about their personal lives because they didn’t want to lose authority. Social isolation for black and Latina women in the workplace is explained by white colleague’s fear of “saying the wrong thing,” resulting in interaction being avoided altogether. In addition, culturally insensitive comments that marginalize women of color can also make them feel that they do not fit in with the work culture, and thus choose not to talk to their coworkers.
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