The leadership deficit for women in STEM

As I have contemplated what it means to be a woman in STEM, I feel a sense of pride thinking about the inspiring mentors that I have come across in my short career. I feel pride for the female scientists that have had to jump the extra hurdles that did not exist for their male counterparts so that I don’t have to. I feel gratitude that it was these trailblazers who made it possible for someone who looks like me to one day be called a scientist.

I’m also struck by the regrettable parallels of these women’s careers: Rosalind Franklin has only recently been credited as the discoverer of the structure of DNA (which she discovered in 1951); Chien-Shiung Wu was the first scientist to confirm the theory of radioactive beta decay only to have her male colleagues be awarded the Nobel Prize for the breakthrough; or Katherine Johnson, a mathematician at NASA whose calculations sent the first Americans into space, and whose contributions were largely unknown to the public until the release of a movie (Hidden Figures) that profiled her life.

I’m left wondering if the field has progressed to a point today that this all-too-common narrative will cease to exist. Has the largely male-dominated field finally progressed?

"I hope victories experienced by women are no longer celebrated as accomplishments because of their gender; but rather, the sheer talent and merit they possess as a scientist."

-- Julia Lefler

There are many exciting signs pointing to change when it comes to women’s involvement in STEM careers. Currently, women are pursuing careers in science at unprecedented rates. Women are also now earning more degrees than men and compose half of the college educated workforce. We are finally seeing a growing representation of female voices in the field. However, many of us are aware that the academic scientific community has not solved all of the problems facing women. An article in Science published in 2020 highlighted three challenges relevant to women across science careers:  a lack of a sense of belonging, harassment and bullying, and unequal compensation compared to men. While we have more women pursuing careers in science, the very academic institutions in which we are expected to thrive in have not addressed these issues.

So how can these problems be addressed moving forward? Simply put, leadership. In order to change the stagnant culture that perpetuates these challenges that hinder women in the field, we have to see a diversification of leadership roles in academic institutions. Despite the exciting increase in STEM-trained women, they are still absent from leadership positions across academia, government, and industry.  In a report based on a survey of 1160 institutions conducted by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, women hold the least senior administrative positions and are the lowest paid among higher ed administrators. Of these senior positions, only 14 percent of higher ed administrators—men and women—were racial or ethnic minorities.

Another study performed by the Association for Women in Science (AWIS) revealed that across academia, government, and industry, STEM-trained women are absent from leadership positions. Analysis performed on National Science Foundation data showed that as women progress up the faculty ranks, the proportion of women sharply declines. For men, their representation grows as they climb the hierarchical ladder.

One of the main reasons given by search committees in academic STEM institutions to explain the absence of women in leadership roles is the apparent absence of women from their candidate pool. However, a previous study has shown that job unavailability and barriers to getting hired are major reasons why women, especially women of color, leave their STEM fields. This study points to the fact that a diverse pool of skilled STEM women exists, but organizations are not making the efforts to expand networks to include them.

There are also cultural barriers that continue to undermine women’s leadership pursuits. Because there are many more women obtaining STEM credentials, many believe that the deficit in leadership roles is due to the fact that women, especially women with children, are not interested in holding these positions.

The 2019 AWIS Leadership Survey of 125 women across different sectors shows that 75 percent are currently in leadership roles or have served has leaders in the past, and 19 percent currently aspire to leadership positions. The survey demonstrates that the gap in women representation in leadership roles is not due to a lack of desire. This led to a deeper investigation into cultural barriers to leadership pursuits that women face. More than half of women surveyed had regularly experienced microaggressions and biases related to their competence and merit, such as:

 -    Had their judgment questioned in their area of expertise.                                                                                                       -    Worked harder than others to prove themselves.                                                                                                                   -    Had to provide more evidence of competence than their peers.                                                                                             -    Have other professionals explain things to them in their area of expertise.                                                                             -    Have been assumed to be more junior than they are.                                                                                                             -    Have had their accomplishments or ideas credited to someone else.

In a field based on facts obtained through research and data analysis, these studies should be used as a wake-up call for institutions to do better. While it remains a fact that there is a staggering gap in women in leadership positions across sectors in STEM, it is also a fact that diversity in leadership is good for innovation and organizational financial outcomes. It’s time for this community to lean into these findings and decide to make a change.

It should also be made clear that this responsibility should not be placed on women within these organizations. It is up to institutions to remove these barriers experienced by women in hopes that the overall culture will change for the better. The AWIS study highlights several recommendations that institutions can implement to address the leadership gap, such as broadening networks when conducting leadership searches, making leadership evaluations more transparent, offering equal leadership development opportunities, and addressing microaggressions and biases.

These changes are possible if academic institutions decide to put in the work and acknowledge the very real challenges women still face compared to their male colleagues. Increasing female leadership representation in academic institutions will change the very culture that caused this gender gap in the first place.

Moving forward, I hope the narrative surrounding women’s accomplishments in STEM are no longer riddled by tales of being overlooked and undervalued by their male counterparts. The recent recognition and media focus on scientists like Kizzmekia Corbett, Ph.D., the key scientist behind the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D., one of the 2020 recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing CRISPR technology, are exciting signs of changes to the culture surrounding women in STEM. I hope victories experienced by women are no longer celebrated as accomplishments because of their gender; but rather, the sheer talent and merit they possess as a scientist.