5 Ways to Help Women

Kelsey Moore
March 31, 2021
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Women in STEM. We hear the stories. We see the hashtags. But what actions can we take to help break down barriers and make progress towards equality?

To properly support women, it is imperative to recognize that there is a discrepancy in gender equality, take stock of the changes we’ve made, and acknowledge that there is still more to achieve.

Here I share 5 simple ways to effectively support women in STEM. My hope is that you consider them as we celebrate the resiliency of women this month, and always.

"There are many contributing factors to explain why women have not yet shattered the academic glass ceiling and I challenge you to consider them as you navigate the academic landscape."

-- Kelsey Moore

1.    Acknowledge persisting gender disparities

It is true that women have made monumental cracks in the glass ceiling of many fields. We can celebrate the first female Vice President, Kamala Harris. In science, we can applaud the recent successes of Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, who earned the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on CRISPR.

In the world of academia, women are clearly the dominant doctorate degree earning group. In the 2018/2019 academic year, roughly 101,799 female and 85,769 male students earned a doctoral degree in the United States. Women make up the majority in the biological and medical/health sciences, as they have for the past decade, while men still dominate the remaining STEM fields of engineering and mathematics.

It is interesting and important to note that these gender distributions are not represented in postgraduate positions, especially in academia. Let’s use our own College of Graduate Studies (CGS) at MUSC as an example. We currently have female representation in leadership roles including the Dean of CGS and Vice President of Research. Furthermore, the ratio of female and male Ph.D. students reflects the national average. However, the majority of department chairs and principal investigator positions are occupied by men. Specifically, of the 60 mentors currently accepting first year students, 40 are men and 20 are women. This disparity is strikingly evident for incoming students and becomes more significant as students progress and select committee members.

This disparity leaves me with several questions: Where do these doctorate earning women go if not to academic positions? Are more women applying for faculty positions than men currently? And is it just a matter of time for ratios to even out?

There are many contributing factors to explain why women have not yet shattered the academic glass ceiling and I challenge you to consider them as you navigate the academic landscape.

2.    Evaluate and reflect

Once we’ve recognized that gender stereotypes and disparities persist, we should evaluate if and how our actions are perpetuating these problems in our personal and professional communities.

Whether you are a student, a postdoc, laboratory staff, or principal investigator, it is important to consider how your leadership is promoting or burdening women and other minorities.

I recently came across a Twitter post from @leslievosshall, a PI at Rockefeller University, where she shared an anonymous survey she distributes to her lab annually in an effort to gauge morale and employee satisfaction. I think this type of assessment is great; when else can lab members or mentees assess their leadership and workplace environment?

Furthermore, students are regularly and intensively evaluated at committee meetings and even asked to leave the room for this purpose, but what if this was also a chance for the student to review the PI? If there are no formal means of evaluating our leadership (beyond complaints), how are we addressing or celebrating our progress?

3.    Vote for legislation that supports women at home and in the workplace.

Another way to support women in STEM is to support women’s rights at the polls. You can do this by voting to address issues that promote gender equality and civil rights in our society.

A short list of these issues and related legislation includes:

 -    Equal compensation. The Equal Pay Act, which was passed in 1963 to address the wage disparities between women and men, would go a long way to redress this issue.                                                                                                                      -    Affordable childcare. Legislation, including the Child Care for Working Families Act and Elizabeth Warren’s Universal Child Care Act, could potentially assist graduate students with children.                                                                                     -    Paid maternity AND paternity leave. While unpaid leave (up to 12 weeks) is protected under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, the U.S. is one of the only developed countries that does not have substantial legislation for paid parental leave.                                                                                                                                                                                             -    Protections for LGBTQ workers. In June of 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits the firing and discrimination of employees based on sexual orientation or gender identity.                                                               -    Race / Color Discrimination. These forms of discrimination are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

*If you have experienced or witnessed racial, sexual or gender-based discrimination, you are strongly encouraged to contact the Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (diversity@musc.edu, titleix@musc.edu) or by completing the anonymous, online Prohibited Conduct Response Form.

4.    Advocate for female equality in your communities

Another way to support women is by positively contributing to communities at MUSC and in Charleston. MUSC based groups that address women and minority issues include:

ARROW Initiative: The Advancement Recruitment and Retention of Women program aims to support female Ph.D. scientists and researchers by providing various programs and awards, and hosts an annual seminar.

MUSC Women’s Club (MUWC): The Women’s Club is an organization that offers various social and volunteer opportunities in addition to an annual scholarship for students from the six MUSC colleges.

SC-PEAR: SC Policy, Engagement, Advocacy and Research group is a CGS student lead organization that hosts various programs with policy makers on the MUSC campus and beyond (activities can be found in CGS Newsletter).

Safe Zone Program: The MUSC Safe Zone symbol signifies a safe place to discuss issues that impact people who are marginalized. Become an ally with on campus training.

The Graduate Student Association (GSA) and Student Government Association (SGA) host monthly meetings and provide a plethora of service events and seminars with various topics each month. Look out for these events in the CGS Newsletter and MUSC Student Broadcast.

5.    Keep up with current issues.

Now more than ever, we rely on social media and virtual platforms to surround ourselves and follow the stories of current, fearless women in STEM. Below is a list of female focused and founded Podcasts, as well as Instagram and Twitter accounts. Follow along, join in the conversation, and as the kids say, ‘stay woke!’

Instagram                                                                                                                                                                                     -    All things equal rights and the most informative @charlestonactivistnetwork by Mika Gadsden

Twitter                                                                                                                                                                                           -    In the name of work life balance in academia: @phdbalance and @thoughtsofaphd                                                              -    Science communications: @heysciencesam                                                                                                                            -    Strong female voices: @alieward of @ologies, @leslievosshall, @starstrickenSF, @ravenscimaven                                      -    COVID vaccine queen: @kizzyPhD                                                                                                                                          -    Many female students and PIs are on the Twitter, follow them!

Podcasts                                                                                                                                                                                        -    Health Focus by Bobbi Conner (MUSC)                                                                                                                                 -    STEM Fatale by Emlyn Gremlyn and Emma Dilemma                                                                                                           -    Ologies by Alie Ward                                                                                                                                                               -    Short Wave by Maddie Sofia                                                                                                                                                   -    This Podcast Will Kill You by Erin Allmann Updyke and Erin Welsh

It is hard to deny that the women who work within the MUSC community and beyond have seen significant progress and many wonderful success stories; however, more work still needs to be done. Through the actions suggested above – although supporting women includes many other measures – I hope you continue to denounce discrimination and support the advancement of women in your community. Let’s shatter that ceiling.