In a field where they have consistently been underrepresented, women in STEM share their stories about how COVID-19 has impacted them and their careers.
A Delicate Balance: Hardaway Hall’s (University of Alabama, School of Engineering) corridors are void of its usual busy workplace ambience as faculty debate on whether to continue working from home or return to old routines.
The science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field has always been dominated by males, and according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up a minuscule 28% of this growing workforce- and with certain professions such as physicists and engineers: 15%. Integrating more women into STEM jobs could be a crucial step for gender equality and diversity in the workforce.
Lisa Nicole Smith: Director of the Multicultural Engineering Program and Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Alabama
Lisa Nicole Smith, the Director of the Multicultural Engineering Program and Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Alabama explained how stereotypes impact women in STEM and influence how people perceive them.
Women [have been] subconsciously taught that being smart is not a good thing,” she said. “I think there is a natural [supposition] that people who are in [STEM] positions [are male] because it’s a director position. [And people] are more accustomed and comfortable with the idea of a man leader.”
Dr. Beth Todd: Departmental Undergraduate Program Director and Mechanical Engineering Professor at the University of Alabama
Although some may scorn at the idea of more women working in math and science, Dr. Beth Todd, a Departmental Undergraduate Program Director and a Mechanical Engineering Professor, spoke out on why more women are needed in the STEM field.
“Most women probably have a slightly different life experience, at least on the engineering side, when approaching problems,” Todd said. “They can bring that experience with them and [develop] some different solutions than what the men would have.”
When COVID-19 first hit the United States in the spring of 2020, colleges and universities responded by implementing social distancing and mask-wearing policies, and instructing faculty and students to work from home. However, some feel that institutions overlooked the stress experienced by faculty- especially those who are female.
Dr. Siyuan Song: Civil Engineering Professor at the University of Alabama
“I do [experience more stress],” said Dr. Siyuan Song, a Civil Engineering Professor. “Everyone has encountered a lot of difficulties in the past year. I don’t have a family yet [and] I live alone, [but for me personally,] it’s just not as good as before.”
Though Song isn’t a mother herself, she does have a friend who is.
“I think that women that have families and [women that don’t] have families are different,” Song said. “I have a colleague who [had] a baby recently and she [now] has another baby. It’s hard for her to do her work and her life, because she needs to take care of the babies all the time at home.”
What Song’s friend has experienced is echoed by many- taking care of a family is the most prominent cause of stress in STEM women during the pandemic. In a consensus study report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), out of the 444 STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) women surveyed, an overwhelming 71.17% indicated that increased childcare demands were a challenge during the pandemic.
While childcare challenges may only apply to a subgroup of the female STEM workforce- one problem prevails for all: work-life balance. For most professors, distance learning also meant more flexible schedules. Many recorded lectures and posted them online for students to watch rather than having live classes.
“There’s no specific time to attend meetings or teach or [have] office hours,” said Song. “[So there’s] more pressure to have a regular schedule everyday [and] it’s difficult.”
In many cases, increased stress and non-rigid routines led to more overtime hours.
“Not [being] in the office and [having] a different way of working allows [us] to keep working well beyond the time we should and [it] bleed[s] heavily into family time. There’s always going to be one more email, one more call, one more ‘this’ I can send out,” said Smith.
In the same NASEM survey, 212 (28%) reported having an increased workload and hours worked. But not all impacts of COVID-19 were negative.
Smith said, “The blessing [of the COVID-19 pandemic] has been that people have had to, number one, work with their resources, and number two, really realize what they had.”
Although the pandemic forced everyone to change, it also pushed some people to see things through a new perspective and for women in STEM, gave them the confidence to overcome yet another roadblock.
Song said, “[As] women, we still have challenges. I talked to my friends and my students. [Some are thinking,] ‘Maybe I’m not capable of doing this.’ And I always encourage [them and say,] ‘Yes, yes you can do it.’”