by As a graduate student in physics, I was often the only woman in the room. As I have gained more experience, I have learned valuable lessons about the scientific community and how I can better promote my career. Once I started supervising female graduated students, I realized that many of them had also felt alienated about some scientists, an experience that shelled with their self -confidence or the passion for their work.
More than two decades of doing research and guidance of students, I have put together some tools that give women the power to improve their own experiences in the voice. In 2019 I changed these resources to an experiential course called Tools for Women in Voice. Although the course is designed for women, all sexes are welcome.
There are many reasons why women are under -represented in voice, including bias and stereotypes, but also workplace cultures and the absence of balance policy between work and private life. A report from the American Association for University Women makes recommendations for improving the preservation of women in Stem career: ensuring that women get the mentoring they need, support a balance between work and private life and create a hospitable culture.
This is all easier said than done. Despite the many programs and initiatives that have been implemented throughout the country since 2010, when the Aauw report was published, the percentage of women in many areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics remains very low, with a trend that is at its best level. Even when they enter the field, many choose to leave.
What does the course explore?
To help young women navigate their professional life in voice, I start by taking every student on a personal journey, starting by contextualizing their experiences in voice. Students reflect on the shame triggers who can give them that they are not good enough, even if their record is fantastic, as well as any prejudices they have about others. Self -consciousness is an essential starting point.
Students then work on skills with real-life impact, ranging from networks during meetings and building effective relationships with mentors to negotiations, dealing with intimidation and exploring leadership roles. This is done by activities in the classroom and often followed by practice in their real life.
What does the students prepare for?
Prepared by videos and articles, students practice these skills and discuss strategies in small groups. This model offers an opportunity for cooperation and for assimilating and sharpening all the skills that are treated in the course.
Take mentoring as an example. Students practice achieving potential mentors and setting up a new mentorrelation. Through discussion, students learn to receive and give useful feedback. When students have a safe, familiar environment, they are more inclined to try out new things.
During the last month of the Practice Practice Practice Practice Communicating in a wide range of circumstances that are characteristic of a voice career. Every week they focus on one type of communication: scientific presentations, posters, research group meetings and outreach, all important skills in a voice job that are not always formally taught.
We conclude the course with a “women in voice” outreach event that has been fully made and implemented by the students themselves. This event varied from organizing a voice research fair, with students about bridges between voice and real life and collecting sticky notes from researchers about their experiences in voice.
Graduated students in the tools for women in STEM course collected slab notes about the experiences of other researchers in the STEM field as part of the course. Filomena Nunes
While students work together in a safe, familiar environment, they develop their own voices and get confidence. And the connections that were established during the course can continue during their graduated program.
Why is this course now relevant?
Nowadays, women in voice have higher expectations for their workplace than those of previous generations, and they are less tolerant of poisonous environments. Courses such as these can enable students to advocate a better experience and to promote a healthy culture for women in voice.
Women are not the only group of under -represented in voice. Instruction that adjusts these lessons to the challenges that other identity groups are confronted can help many other students succeed.
Unusual courses is an occasional series from the conversation that highlighted our unconventional approaches to teaching.
This article is re -published of the conversation, a non -profit, independent news organization that gives you facts and reliable analysis to help you understand our complex world. It is written by: Filomena Nunes, Michigan State University
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Filomena Nunes receives financing from NSF and Doe.
