Established this spring, Women in STEM hopes to provide a comfortable, empowering space for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors who are still underrepresented in their respective fields.
Co-founder and President of Women in STEM and junior accounting major Sarah Sullivan said she wanted to join a student organization that could benefit her in her future career endeavors, but could not find an organization that suited her needs.
Sullivan’s roommate, a biomedical engineering major, suggested starting a STEM group inclusive of multiple fields.
“She was like, ‘What about Women in STEM?’ and I was like, ‘That’s perfect,’” Sullivan said. “A group that’s not so exclusive that most people can’t join, but a little bit (of everything), you know? Everybody has their own little space. Especially in majors that are male-dominated.”
Sullivan hopes that people who join Women in STEM can create study groups and network with each other.
The founders’ main goal is to establish a safe space that simultaneously connects and empowers women in STEM-related disciplines. Morgan Young, a junior accounting major and the club’s vice president and co-founder, stressed that Women in STEM is a space for its members to do exactly this.
“You don’t have to be a woman to join it. It’s just that our focus is wanting to connect women in STEM, and if a guy wants to join too, then, hey, that’s totally fine,” Young said.
Freshman electrical and computer engineering double major Tyneah Buckley shared that she joined the club not only to be a part of an organization that shares her educational values, but also to have a community to share experiences with.
Having that support and connection with people who are similar to you, Buckley explained, can help anyone feel like they can achieve much more in their field without letting personal doubt interfere.
“It’s just reassuring, and it definitely motivates you to be more confident in classes and be more confident about going to get those internships and interviewing without having to worry about, oh, you know, ‘I’m a woman, so I might not be as qualified,’” Buckley said.
Though women are increasingly joining the STEM workforce, they are still significantly underrepresented in particular fields according to a 2021 Pew Research Center report.
As of 2018, women earned 53% of STEM-related college degrees, with 85% of women earning health-related bachelor’s degrees. However, only 22% of those women studied engineering, and 19% majored in computer science.
With various organizations promoting diversity and institutional initiatives — such as the University of Mississippi’s March 2023 grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute to better promote inclusivity in STEM education and teaching — progress in STEM on campus is imminent, too.
Women in STEM believes the best step forward for any organization, educational institution or workspace is to celebrate the achievements and progress of all minority groups.
“If you feel like you’re appreciated where you are, you’re going to stay, but if you don’t feel like you’re appreciated, you’re going to be like, ‘Okay, well, I want to go somewhere where they actually see my worth,’” Young said.
