Page 14 - Fall_DTF

In Her Own \l\Iurds
in California. I was one of two women in a group of about getsalongwellwithmenanddoesn’tmindalittleoff-colorhumor
10-12 audio hardware and software developers. During in the field (which I do realize is not OK), I felt pretty equal.
my earliest years at the company, one of the main software However, after taking a.n extended maternity leave and then
developers on my team had girly posters hung up in our working part-time, I felt abit forgotten, noticed opportunities
conference room, and he regularly made sexual remarks forwhichlwasnotconsideredbecauselwasnotasomnipresent,
during meetings and when I worked with him. Usually, a.nd struggled to maintain the level of i.nvolvement required to
the group of male engineers would laugh awkwardly at his excel in my field. VVhile huge improvements have been made
remarks. After a few months, that engineer was made to over the years, I think the culture of science needs to cha.nge
remove the girly posters, but he still made sexual comments to accommodate ‘both men and women’ with responsibilities
at every engineering meeting. He made comments about outside work so that this time taken away from work is normal,
how I looked and about having sex on a daily basis. This accepted, and even celebrated.”
continued despite my -complaints to the head of engineering. Wurking in the Minority
This 40+-year-old engineer then began having a relationship .. . .
_ _ _ _ I used to have more struggles with the imposter syndrome
with a 16-year-old girl from Canada he had met oriline. This _ _ .
_ _ _ _ _ (chronic feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy) than I
man started bringing the girl into the oflice. My supervisor .
_ _ _ do now. What helped was when I came across a study in
asked me to meet with the underage girl and convince her to .

_ graduate school showing how the more that women are
go back lo Cmada' when I refused lo do this’ the Company underrepresented in a particular field, the more those
spoke to their lawyer who reported the abuse to the FBI. The .

_ _ women outperform the men. (This was a study done on
engineer was subsequently arrested on multiple accounts of Georgia Tech smdems in the 19905‘) Objecfive data about
child abuse and molestation charges. . . .

the performance of other women, in addition to my own
"About a year after this, in 1999, my supervisor regularly performance, helped me feel like I really belong in the
asked me out while mentioning promotion and pay raises. I sciences.”
reported l-')aE1l£l8V:l' to‘ the president of the c:1mpanfyi fie Impwtance afM£nm”.ng
Companymm Y 0 fife lo Pay me oneiyears S Hy ‘ fa ’ “I am a current PhD student at the University of Nebraska-
but I refused. They switched my supervisor instead. Starting . . . . . .
_ _ Lincoln, studying acoustics within an architectural
in 2000, the most outrageous incidents finally stopped. But, . . .
_ engineering program. As an undergraduate at Brigham
still from 2000 to 2013, I was always referred to as one of the Y . . . .
_ _ _, oung University (BYU), Provo, UT, I was studying music
gms Wm though I was m my 405' and never dreamed of entering a STEM-related field. After
taking an introductory acoustics course, I discovered a
E5"lY'=5"93" n3593"‘=h9"‘5 passion for physics, research, and everything acoustics
[EDT 053 related. I was unsure if I could enter a field that at the time
s"""i"K “ F'"'”7}’ looked daunting and frankly out of my league. I approached
“Most of my experiences have been great. The vast majority my Pmfgsson daring 10 have that 1 could join 3 research
of the men I Work With have been kind. f€5l79Clh11> and team of some sort. Her reaction changed the course of my
encolmging Of my P'°f955i°“3l 3-mhhi°“5- I have had life and her continued support even changed my attitude
many great mentors in graduate school. at my i7051d0C, and and my belief in what I can accomplish. Not only did she
in lhd“5'-"Y- Ihave °“1Y 3 handful °f negative "-Xl79Yi€flC€S, help me find a place in the acoustics research group at
P31'liC“1’-\1'lY With 111)’ l705td°C 3dVi501' Wh° lhfealmed to BYU, but she also mentored me throughout the process of
Short"-U ‘HY malemlw 193V9 (Which i5 1119831) h€C3“59 he deciding postgraduation plans and exploring career goals.
W3-5fl’1h3Pl7Y Whh 111)’ d3Ci5l0I1l0 W01'k 011 Other P1'0l9Ct5 in I am certain that without her mentorship I would not be
addition to his project. I’ve also had to navigate the tightrope when 1 am mdayf’
alkf ' bl'kabl AND ',h'h' ft
lgifliclslt ;?:::iI:::n: l e assemve W K ‘S 0 en Importance afMentari'ngH
‘ “Joining a STEM field as a female was intimidating. However,
Balancing Wurk and Family I had several professors and mentors who encouraged me
“I found that my experience as a woman i.n STEM felt very and helped me succeed and thrive. Although I feel fortunate
different after I had a baby. Before, because I a.m awoma.n who to have an incredible support system, I wonder if there are
12 1 AI:uuI:lr:I Tbday 1 FIH2013