Math, science aren’t the only options for smart young women
November 17, 2009
By Allison Bolgiano
Hall Monitor Allison Bolgiano Liberty High School
When I tell people that I am interested in majoring in politics or sociology in college, I am often met with a reproachful stare.
This phenomenon is part of a larger trend in our society. Intelligent, high-achieving young women are pressured by our society into entering math and science fields. Just as the feminists wanted women to have options beyond staying at home with children, today, smart young women should not be a conveyer belt destined for only math and science.We are attempting to overcompensate for the previous lack of women in these fields. At Liberty High School, girls can attend the Expanding Your Horizons conference or join Physettes. Both of these encourage women’s interest in math and science, with the goal of more women entering these fields. There are no special programs at Liberty to encourage students, let alone women, to enter politics.
The problem is that women are traditionally severely underrepresented in politics and business. The Council of State Governments reports that since the founding of the United States, only 28 women have served as governors. Twenty-nine states have never elected a woman as governor. The current U.S. Senate is home to only 17 women. Similarly, of CNN’s 2009 Fortune 500 Companies, only 15 are led by women. Fifteen out of 500 equals an abysmal 3 percent.
The numbers are much more promising in science, though. Women compose roughly one-third of chemists, computer scientists and math scientists, according to an RTI International study. Clearly, our efforts to increase the number of women in math and science have succeeded.
In today’s educational environment, in which women outnumber men in U.S. universities, there is no need to compel women to enter a specific field. Instead, women should be encouraged to pursue any career in which they have interest.
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8 Responses to “Math, science aren’t the only options for smart young women”
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I agree with you wholeheartedly. As a high school student, I had no idea what I wanted to do, but because I made good grades in science and math, I was encouraged to go the way of computer science and engineering. Now, I also had great grades in English, History and every other course I took and my strengths actually lie in those areas. Encouragement, however was not there. So I ended up at a great university on scholarship taking courses that made me miserable until I finally just gave up. Don’t get me wrong, the training I’ve received and my early career experiences have made me employable in the most stressful job markets. However, I wish I had been pushed as hard to write and edit because those are my true passions and I am just now laying the foundation to make a career change.
No the reason people reproach you for choosing that major is because you aren’t going to make a lot of money as a sociology major. In American society education is valued because it often leads to better salaries and a good job.
In order to get an MBA from a prestigious school and get up the ladder in business, you will need calculus.
Many politicians have law degrees, and standard pre-law prep for better schools also requires calculus.
Fact is, up to at least the first year of calculus, and probably the second, the more math you take, the more high-paying careers you can go into. Suggesting that women ignore math and science just means that women should ignore money.
It doesn’t matter whatever path you ultimately choose; the point of education is to offer you the tools to make those choices. Most people won’t study math after college, so that’s the perfect time to take more regardless of major.
In case you didn’t already know that it’s a small world, this article has been picked up and discussed around the globe. The same thoughts have been on the minds of others, even some parallels outside the US.
There is an organization called Systers with membership of women in computing systems fields (http://www.iwt.org/initiatives/systers/). We’ve been debating this topic since Allison’s article came out. Of course all of us DID go into a technology field, which is the other side of the coin.
There seem to be undue pressures on kids to do the “obvious” thing: tall kids to play basketball, poor kids to go into trades. Smart girls may be pressured into math and science sometimes, and other times they are discouraged. It’s a complicated thing to figure out.
We in the Systers group would like to welcome any girl or woman who likes computing technology or computer science, and we fully understand that not all do.
Allison, I hope that you and others in the same boat keep on using your analytical and writing talents, whether it’s in math, science, literature, journalism or cake decorating
Nicely written article. Thanks to Nelly Yusupova @DigitalWoman for spotting it.
I agree with Deidre’s comment. Posted here:
http://lindashermangordon.posterous.com/math-and-science-for-women-necessary
@lindasherman
As a planet, we face tremendous challenges in the next decade – from climate change, to disease, to hunger, to water. The list goes on. With over 70% of all science and engineering jobs in the USA occupied by men, there is a lack of balance to the problem solving approaches needed to address these problems. I see a tremendously low % of girls interested science and engineering at my high school. When asking why, most girls reply ” I am not good at science. Or, engineering is too hard.” Women offer a unique perspective on problem solving. One that is usually concerned with the well being of individuals and groups. While men are usually focused on competition and profit. Hence the need to recruit more women into these areas. According to an INSA report, India has only 18% of science and engineering jobs filled by women. The pen is a mighty weapon, but it will lead to a better planet when in the hands of a woman trained in science or engineering.
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I’m sorry Allison, but I cannot agree with you that “smart young women should not be a conveyer belt destined for only math and science.” The group was created to encourage feminism within the field because of a current lack, not a previous lack. Last year in my honors physics class, 8 out of 40 students were girls. According to the National Science Board, only about 23% of occupations in the fields of science and engineering are held by women. Do you notice something about these statistics, personal and general? They indicate that only 1 in 5 women pursue this career path. From my experience, this is because women are made to feel like their questions aren’t important, when in fact I think we bring a whole new perspective to multi-dimensional problems.
I’m sorry that it appears as if there is a lack of female politicians. I’m sorry that there is an apparent accepted gender role that women typically do not fufill positions of power. As Beverly Gross explained in her work, “Bitch,” women are ridiculed and discouraged from achieving any sort of powerful position through labeling. She states: “Judging by the contemporary colorations of the word bitch, what men primarily fear and despise in women is power.” Unfortunately, that is the way that politic works. I mean, let’s not pretend that we all didn’t find the SNL skit of Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin hilarious! The actress portraying Hilary Clinton describes herself as a bitch, while the actress portraying Sarah Palin appears to act ditzy and cute, recieving all of the attention of the media.
My point is that your article misdiagnoses the problem. Its not the clubs we have at school. Its not that too many women are being encouraged into going into science that creates a dearth in politics. Its not if a woman is smart, she will be pushed into science because its been glamourized. She may be more attracted to it, but not because of clubs like Physettes or events like Expanding Your Horizons. It is the fact that there are certain accepted gender roles that society has constructed. Going into environmental science shows a sense of motherhood in taking care of the earth. Going into politics for women displays A-type personalities and power, both of which society has labeled as being “bitchy.”
Gross, Beverly. “Bitch.” Situating Inquiry. Ed. Angela Rounsaville, et al. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2008. October 4th, 2009.