REGENT REVIEW-- May 2017

Page 8
Continued stories
Women in STEM
cont. from page 1
ly or overly represented in
West’s biology classrooms.
If gender inequality
doesn’t span the whole
of STEM, then what differentiates
the areas women
are choosing? Eliana Durnbaugh,
a senior, said that
while she used to like the
abstract nature of quantum
mechanics and string theory,
she has since switched to
pursuing biology. “I’d like
to do something that helps
humanity,” she explained.
Some argue that what sets
low female participation
STEM fields apart is a perception
problem, one that
diverts women to other careers,
STEM or otherwise.
According to Stanford
economist Myra Strober,
“You can get more young
women interested in engineering
if you discuss the
ways in which engineers help
people in society. Women
like to help people in society.
Sidran
cont. from page 7
only in her mid 20s. I remember
thinking when
we were working together
that of everyone
I had met up until then,
she was the one who was
most likely to succeed.
By the way, one of
the most talented musicians
I played with in
my Madison years was
Anthony Cao. I always
felt that he could have
moved to New York, LA
or Nashville and had a
serious career as a music
director for a pop singer,
or as a session player
and singer. The fact
that he chose to stay in
Madison to teach at West
says a lot about him as
a person and how much
teaching meant to him.
Well, engineers, by and large,
do that. But that’s not the
way that engineering is sold.”
However, whether reframing
a class in a way that may
appeal to more girls should
be considered inclusive or
itself sexist is controversial.
Female students today
are still vastly underrepresented
in many computer
science, physics and engineering
classrooms, which
creates a stigmatized climate
that may be further entrenching
the problem. When Biology
teacher Michael Merline
took his daughters to a Physics
is Fun presentation at the
Overture Center, both noticed
the conspicuous lack of
female performers—only 1
of 8 or 9 on stage. “I was a
little surprised that they were
aware of that […] I didn’t
know they thought about
that,” he reflected.
Merline noted that
classes of AP Physics 2 at
West are sometimes 90%
male, and the AP Computer
Science A classes range from
SR: Has Madison
had an impact
on you as a musician
and as a person?
LS: Absolutely.
I don’t know how long
I’ll have to be in New
York before I stop feeling
like a Madisonian
in exile. On a creative
level, it was the most
encouraging and accepting
place anyone
could hope for. You
can try things. You
can fail even, and it’s
okay. It was lucky for
me that I “came up”
in Madison. But the
other part of it is that
Madison is a deceptive
place because on the
one hand it’s a typical
Midwestern midsized
city, but on the other
hand there’s really no
other place like it.
You don’t realize
until you leave
just how special it is
to have so many open
minded, brilliant, progressive
people in
such close proximity
to one another. Finally,
I think the fact that
Madison was smallish
and didn’t have so
much going on, ultimately
led me to discover
more music and
art. Because anything
that came to town,
music, film, whatever,
if it was interesting
regardless of genre,
I would check it out.
In a city like New
York where there’s
constant activity, it
can be hard to decide
what to focus on.
being 75% to 100% male.
Female students described
the tensions in such
situations as palpable. Elizabeth
Liu, a junior, says that
on occasions she’s felt “ignored.”
Durnbaugh said that
because she was one of only
4 girls in her AP Calculus
BC class, she felt “isolated,”
and as though her actions
and mistakes would be perceived
as reflective of all
girls. If high school females
in STEM parallel the behavior
of their collegiate counterparts,
this demographic imbalance
may be a reason for
females’ lower participation
rate, especially in computer
science and engineering.
However, Merline
emphasizes that in attempting
to reform this environment,
school officials should
be wary of “reflexive responses
that might make the
problem worse.” He insists
that “contrived” solutions
like “pushing kids in a certain
direction” are dangerous.
Durnbaugh acknowledges
that parents play a large
role in reducing the gender gap
in STEM. She called her parents,
a math teacher and doctor,
her “biggest facilitators”
and attributes her interested in
STEM to their encouragement.
If committed to reducing the
inequity, schools should invest
time and money in solutions
supported by research:
more female mentorship and
reminding students—male and
female—of their strengths, and
how those strengths can translate
to success in STEM fields.
The gender gap for
women in science, technology,
engineering, and math has
persisted for decades, and it is
clear that solutions will involve
parents, schools, and gradual
changes in cultural norms.
Lists of solutions are produced
by countless women, from the
C-suite to the blogosphere, and
from them it is clear that any
long-term progress will only
be achieved by building girls’
self confidence and eliminating
any enduring stigmas that
continue to hold them back.
SR: I had a chance to hear
you play at the Cardinal
Bar in Madison. When
will you be playing again
in Madison so that we
can come and hear you?
LS: I’ll be back this
summer and will definitely
play, although I’m
not sure exactly when or
where. But whenever I
go back, I try to put one
or two things together.
The Cardinal changed
hands this year, now
it’s called something
else but I understand
they still have music.
SR: What advice
would you give to the
students at West as they
consider their futures?
LS: The more experience
I have, the less
advice I feel qualified to
give. Follow what you
love. It’s your best hope.