Women in STEM: Thwarting the Impostor Syndrome

The phenomenon has long since passed intriguing and circled back toward disturbing. All across the country, women in STEM fields (those of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are apologizing away their involvement.

I noticed first at the 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival, that an overwhelming number of booths were run by men. When I did see a woman at a booth, I'd go attempt to strike up a conversation. "It's so nice to see another female scientist," I'd say. In response, I would receive some rendition of "Oh, I'm not a scientist, I'm a math teacher." My [least] favorite was, "No, no. I'm not actually an engineer, I just help the kids build structures after school." Over and over again, women seemed to feel the need to come clean about what their true capabilities were or, more importantly, what they believe they're not.

Recently, at a meet-up for the state leadership teams for the National Girls' Collaborative Project, we had the opportunity to stand and introduce ourselves to all of the other regions. Several ladies in a row amended their intros with a version of "I'm not a STEMMIE myself, but...", leaving a bad taste in the mouth of everyone at my table. After yet another confession by another self-proclaimed non-STEMMIE, someone at my table muttered, "I've got news for you. If you're here, you're a STEMMIE."

Why is it that so many women have such a hard time embracing their inner engineer? It is as if these ladies believe that they have to get explicit permission before they consider themselves scientists, makers, thinkers, or tinkerers. STEM is far more than a profession. You don't have to make money living in the woods to call yourself a Camper. You don't have to study for years in school to believe yourself a Knitter. So why would anyone need to move beyond action and interest before they can call themselves a Scientist?

This is a problem now more than ever because STEM jobs are projected to grow at double the rate of the labor force by the year 2018, and women make up the largest percentage of the population who are actively avoiding those fields.

According to Clance & Imes, men don't seem to share this quality. By and large, it is women who add an asterisk to their accomplishments in difficult areas, and attribute them to external forces. This attribution shapes their vision of themselves as an accidental part of the STEM team, rather than a functional member. In the same study by Clance & Imes, it is deduced that women begin to form these perceptions of themselves very early in life. At some point they begin to have experiences that cause them to think that their achievements have more to do with luck than ability. In many cases, they don't realize that other successful people in their circles have also experienced perks associated with being in the right place at the right time.

My challenge to parents in this decade is to encourage their daughters to visualize themselves as anything that they want to be. Does she like to cook? She's a Chemist! Does she enjoy programming her own version of Flappy Bird with Code.org? She's a Computer Scientist! Does she spend hours building with Legos? She's a Maker, a Tinkerer, and an Engineer! The best part is that she doesn't have to pick just one title. All she needs to do is believe in herself.