A conceptual loss, a predicament even, for society is its inability to respect a woman with an opinion. The embodiment of this attitude is the Gender Gap; fueled by the various intrinsic sectors of life of economy, culture, religion, and social status. Often, a correlation can be drawn between this act and the declining interest of women in the sciences. There have been reports that within the STEM field, the most prominent factor at play that is forcing women to leave is the stereotypical beliefs that are infused into their minds and those around them. In statistical terms, 2/3 of women who initially pursued the field tend to leave due to discrimination. It is these biases that eventually act as barriers to reformative science. They ultimately accumulate into the formation of toxic work environments and disrespectful attitudes.
Today, to be a woman in STEM is on par with being held hostage to society’s scrutiny. In layman’s terms to be “held at the metaphorical gunpoint”. Women often consistently feel “...that they need to prove themselves to be respected by coworkers…” (Funk, C.). There is a superior level of respect given to a woman with higher qualifications than one with a lower education within the field. There is also an expectation that women, whether working or not, put their lives on hold to take care of their families. These expectations do not overlap in any sense, and instead end up overworking a woman. It is important to recognize that for women to want to stay in the field, as demonstrated by the “35%” of women that did so discussed by Virginia Tech, there have to be female role models in the field.
Compared to men, fewer women in STEM could encourage them to pursue their dreams, because it is often rather difficult to get to a position where one’s efforts are recognized. It also wasn’t a part of women's rights for centuries, to dream. Therefore, women are often skeptical of any opportunity that comes their way. “Women in computer jobs are less likely than men in such jobs to believe that women are “usually” given a fair shake where they work when it comes to opportunities for promotion.” (Funk, C.). This demonstrates that the disparities within the workplace are extremely palpable. Income is one of the greatest points of adversity: “The worst gaps are in STEM fields, especially in science and engineering. In March 2024, the gender pay gap in science was 13.1%” (Miller, J.). This is a rather large gap and is further pronouncing the difference in wages.
There have been attempts in the past to rectify this behavior, one of the more recent ones being the attempt by Amazon to form an AI that would recruit potential hires and onboard them without human bias. They considered this their optimized and efficient solution to any human error regarding the hiring process. However, the researchers or fabricators of the program failed to consider that the ML data (or machine learning data) that was being processed was based on data sets from past years. That meant that it would include biased selections and then process and form its conclusions based on that. Therefore, when the AI was put to the test it was found that it hired more men than women and downgraded any resumes from a woman or using the word “woman”. This would cause Amazon to incur a loss of talented and qualified individuals because it was trained on old datasets which “mostly used resumes that came from men, a reflection of male dominance across the tech industry.” The statement is representative of how without fixing biases within humans, human-made machines are not going to perform any better.
This reflects that women are not inept, society simply has to find ways to rectify their internal human biases. Encouraging diversity, and allowing one to flourish in their identity as well as have equal opportunities. Increasing the opportunity for more women to grow and learn and continue to be passionate about their field of work. To be role models and form the future Katherine Johnsons - to be taken hostage by one’s passions. To land the next Apollo 11. These are all like freefall movements (pushing against the bounds of gravity) and landing society as a whole on the moon. That day cannot be explained as anything less than cathartic - no matter who you are or what society expects of you.
Written by Shrishti Harish from MEDILOQUY