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Archives for November 2021

Article spotlight: “Amplifying Voices”

November 29, 2021 by Kyra Cook

It’s well known that there are few women in STEM compared to men. But for women from URM (underrepresented minority) backgrounds, this is an even bigger issue. If a STEM department has a female faculty member from a URM, she may well be the only URM woman in her department. This can lead URM women in STEM to feel isolated in their workplaces. This isolation is a major factor in driving them away from science. Mentoring, a process that is vital in helping faculty succeed in higher education, tends to be less effective for URM women. They are unlikely to have access to a senior faculty member who shares their background and can empathize with their unique challenges.  

Missouri State University has its own mentoring program, Bear Bridge. This program helps create a strong community and support system among diverse faculty members at our university. This is an example of what we are doing locally to promote equity for URM faculty. But at universities with very few URM faculty, there may be no mentors who share both their background and their field of study. The article Amplifying Voices: Investigating a Cross-Institutional, Mutual Mentoring Program for URM Women in STEM shows a possible strategy to fix this issue. This article was written by Sandra Petersen, Barbara Zurer Pearson, and Mary A. Moriarty. The article presents data collected from a series of virtual meetings. In these meetings, women of color from many different institutions were invited to share the struggles they faced in the workplace and come up with solutions.  

The women in these groups took surveys before and after the series of meetings. The surveys asked about their feelings of isolation in their departments. By the end, the answers showed a strong improvement in their sense of community and belonging. The women were grateful for a chance to meet with others who shared their experiences. They said that they especially appreciated being able to speak in groups entirely made up of women of color. They felt they could express themselves without having to educate their white colleagues. They also did not have to censor themselves to spare their feelings. This was something many expressed having little opportunity to do elsewhere.

After the meetings, the participants felt more confident in their ability to self-advocate and solve problems in the workplace. This made them more likely to remain in their fields. This research illustrates the importance of empathetic mentorship. Mentors who do not provide both psychosocial and academic support will not be as effective, the authors assert. The two types of mentoring are interconnected. Empathy and strong social connections are vital to retention of URM women in STEM.

Source: Amplifying Voices: Investigating a Cross-Institutional, Mutual Mentoring Program for URM Women in STEM. (Aug. 2020) Petersen, Sandra, Pearson, Barbara Zurer, Moriarty, Mary A., Innovative Higher Education, 45(4).  

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Mind’s Eye Feature: Dr. Xiaomin Qiu

November 15, 2021 by Kyra Cook

Dr. Xiaomin Qiu

Dr. Xiaomin Qiu is our featured woman in STEM this week. She researches geospatial science and how environmental and economic factors affect people’s lives.

Now Qiu gathers and analyzes data to better understand the connections between variables and outcomes. Recently, this work resulted in several publications about determining potential sinkhole sites based on the collection of new elevation data.

“We’re trying to understand this world in a fully contextualized way, based on all the data and the methods,” she said.

Read the full story

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Article Spotlight: “Challenges and Opportunities”

November 8, 2021 by Kyra Cook

Two people working in a lab

In a 2005 article titled “Challenges and Opportunities for Women in Science and Engineering”, Maureen Byko explains the difficulties faced by women in scientific fields. She relates a story about a former President of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, who stated in a speech that women had less natural aptitude for math and science than men, among other sexist comments. The fallout of this speech led to a national conversation about sexism in science. Byko also draws attention to the stigma surrounding the use of policies meant to help with work-life balance. This stigma can make life even more difficult for mothers in STEM. Unconscious bias and sexual harassment issues are also addressed in the article. Byko’s writing offers a detailed look into the issues facing women in STEM, and the ways we can approach solving these problems.

Read the full article

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Mind’s Eye Feature: Dr. Judith Meyer

November 1, 2021 by Kyra Cook

Dr. Judith Meyer

This week’s featured woman in STEM is Dr. Judith Meyer. She is a historical geographer who researches national parks.

“I study the sense of place: the meanings people give to the landscape and how those meanings influence our attitudes toward particular places, especially in terms of how we manage them,” said Meyer, geography program coordinator in the department of geography, geology and planning. “Why do we fight over Jerusalem? Is the Ozarks part of the Yankee North or the Dixie South?

“Understanding the sense of place is important in making thoughtful and effective land-use decisions.”

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

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