SBE Draft

The Discrimination of Black Women in STEM

1. Introduction

Being a black woman in the STEM field is not only very impressive and shows leadership qualities, but it is also a very difficult journey for many of these women who decide to pursue this career. Being black in society is already a hardship in America, but black people every day learn to turn away from the hate and prolong with their lives and careers, however when it comes unto a specific workplace where the majority of workers are either white or asian and add that on top of being a woman is even worse. A lot of people might think that we have gone a long way in society since segregation, slavery, and gender discrimination, however we still have instances and situations where this is not the case. Black children should be able to look up famous surgeons or famous scientist and not only see white or asian faces, but people who look like them. When you see someone in a high standing in society that looks like you as a kid you inspire to be that person. Why you think there are so many black little boys who say they want to be a basketball player or a rapper because in our society those are the only places where a black person is successful and are represented greatly in. Black women in STEM have to work as a powerhouse and push through all the comments and slurs they might get and work 10 times harder to get the recognition that they deserve.

• Scholarly Article

In the research paper, The Troubled Success of Black Women in STEM researchers McGee and Bentley aim to target and inform not just college students, but professors and other fellow academia to revise this issue of black women in STEM. They researched 3 black female college students from both graduate and undergraduate school that were in STEM majors. They wanted to see if these women deal with stereotype of being a black woman in STEM in their different intuitions. Each student is from a different institution in the south (Southern HBCU, Southern PWI, and Southern HBCU), have a different major (Computer Science and Math, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Engineering) and are in different levels of education (Undergraduate junior, Recent PhD graduate, and 4^th year PhD student). The research paper pointed out that, “Nia shared experiences that showed her awareness of the trickle-down effects of structural racism on her own and her friends’ experiences as Black STEM students. She told a story about a friend who received racist questions from some White peers at a STEM conference (e.g., are there “smart people at HBCUs?”). In telling the story, Nia connected the assumptions about HBCU students’ (presumably Black students) intelligence to STEM-related racial biases she experienced on her educational journey: So, people assume that we’re somehow below them, like, even though we … have degrees in math and science, … our HBCU degree can’t hold up to their degree from a White school. Like it’s below because we go to the school that is the reject school in their eyes” (McGee and Bentley). This quote shows how not only is Nia experiencing this, but her friends are as well, and they are seen as the smaller person compared to students who go to PWI just because the institution they go to is seen as the lesser one when compared to a PWI. The students at the STEM conference went as far as saying “are there even ‘smart people at HBCUs’” (McGee and Bentley). A lot of people would say that that is just one person asking that question, however that just shows that yes they were the only one that spoke it out loud but they are not the only one  thinking that a whole lot of individuals think that as well which is not only sad but sickening that due to a person color of their skin people automatically think that their brains aren’t at a certain capability to be equal to a white or asian persons’ brain.

In this paper they go on to show that this doesn’t only happen to individuals who just go to an HBCU, Maya who goes to PWI had something to say as well, “Maya said that the labor-intensive work of getting a doctoral engineering degree was extra laborious for her because she was the only Black woman: STEM majors, I think just in general, are very, very rigorous, but … if you took away the factors of being a woman of color, it’s almost to the point where it’s so strenuous to get things done and you feel like even when you do, it’s not enough. As a Black woman, I can’t fail because if you fail, then you have like the weight of the world on your shoulders and it almost has this front of that everybody’s succeeding and everybody’s doing great, but if you’re not doing great, what’s wrong with Black people? So, it’s this constant thing hanging over you: I have to, I have to always do great. My test scores have always got to be great; every time I present, I always have to be great; or, when I, you know, come up with a research idea or whatever, it has to be the top of, the top whatever because if I don’t, then, then I’m gonna get kicked out or I don’t belong to, I don’t deserve to be here. So, it can be very taxing” (McGee and Bentley). This quote shows that Maya being a black woman at her PWI intuition not only stresses her out physically but also mentally. Maya feels as if she must overcompensate for everything that she does because if she doesn’t it isn’t going to be maybe it is just a hard course or maybe she didn’t study enough. The talk of the town is going to be that she failed because she is a black woman or because she doesn’t have the capacity to give us an amazing research question or an amazing presentation. Maya feels like she is carrying the whole black community on her shoulders because of her status in her STEM field and that if she was to fail or to take a break everything that she has built for not only herself, but her community will crack and shatter.

In this research paper McGee and Bentley wanted to not only showcase what is going on within these different institutions, but to also let people understand how this is affecting these students mentally and physically. Examples that these 3 woman set forth not only should make the readers of this article think about this issue, but it should also make them take a step back and really think if they have ever done something like this without even realizing or if they have thought subconsciously in their head that a PWI is obviously better than an HBCU or if a black woman cannot understand a certain topic as quick as you thought of something that it must just be because of the color of their skin or because she is a woman. All of these are things that some people might not do, but a majority of people in America do and it truly effects the woman in this study as you can tell.

• Website Article

In the website article “Study Shows that Women of Color Face Higher Barriers to Employment in STEM” author O’Donnell wants to inform her readers which are most likely educators, students, business workers, and more who visit the website Insightintodiversity.com. O’Donnell provides details from an article from the journal Sex Roles which further backed up the fact that women of color get the most discrimination in STEM and that when hiring educator’s researchers are biased when it comes to the gender and race of that person. O’Donnell explains that, “ Borrowing from the methodology of prominent job discrimination studies, researchers presented physics and biology professors at eight American public research universities with the CVs of hypothetical PhD students seeking post-doctoral positions in their respective elds.

The qualifications listed on each CV were of equal caliber, but the names of the candidates indicated different combinations of gender and ethnicity. Researchers told the 251 faculty participants that the purpose of the study was to measure the effectiveness of different CV formats. More than three-fourths of respondents self-identified as male, including 90 percent of the physics professors and 65 percent of the biology faculty. They were asked to rate the competence, likeability, and hirability of each candidate. Both physicists and biologists rated female candidates as more likeable than their male peers. In terms of competency ratings, however, there was a split across disciplines. Physics professors tended to rate male applicants as more competent, while biology professors did not exhibit as much gender bias. Professors from both disciplines preferred to hire White and Asian American applicants over African American or Latinx candidates. Women of color were the least likely to be hired” (O’Donnell). This quote shows that in the study even though the women that were being interviewed for the position were more likeable in the physics department viewed “the male applicants as more competent” (O’Donnell). If that wasn’t enough to view that department as sexist what made it worst is that the professors from both department (biology and physics) rather hiring white and asian american workers for the position than black and latinx workers.

So, if we were to look at just the physics department, they would only hire the male white or asian american workers due to the fact that they are more competent and more preferable. O’Donnell saw that this discrimination was a problem as well as authors such as Eaton and others who “put forth several recommendations to address the high levels of bias within the scientific community. These include listing only surnames on future applicants’ CVs as well as removing any mention of gender or ethnicity in letters of recommendation” (O’Donnell). O’Donnell, Eaton, and the other authors doing this not only shows awareness of this issue which doesn’t seem huge but is. But it also shows that they are willing to make a change and not just talk about a change.

• News Article

USA Today authors Orrell and Cox posted an article “Blacks, Latinos feel unwelcome in STEM careers. And that’s a big problem for our economy” where they inform readers who aren’t only educators but are regular people who read the news. Orrell and Cox wants to inform their readers that not only is the discrimination a problem, but the impact of it is making blacks and latinos feel like they are unwanted in STEM careers, and it isn’t just affecting our society socially but also economically. Ornell and Cox explained that “STEM has traditionally been dominated by younger white men — per our recent survey, 59 percent of the field is younger than 50, 70 percent are white, and 65 percent are male. Women were much more likely to say they faced career obstacles due to their gender. What this data suggests is that the uneven playing field for women in the STEM workforce may play a part in discouraging long-term commitment to the field. Longevity equates to seniority and advancement into management and leadership positions” (Orrell and Cox). Ornell and Cox showed how not only are these women in a lower percentage of being employed in this field, but they are also very discouraged due to that low percentage because they are treated as a minority and almost insignificant compared to young white males.

Ornell and Cox even explained that “STEM careers also are seen to be less welcoming for racial minorities, including African- Americans and Latinos. Fifty-one percent of those from nonwhite, non AAPI/Hawaiian backgrounds say African Americans face more obstacles and 46 percent say the same about Latinos. But only 26 percent of white respondents believed African Americans face obstacles in STEM occupations, and 25 percent of white respondents said the same about Latinos. Disadvantage, in STEM fields as in the rest of life, is often in the eye of the beholder.

The lack of acceptance and obstacles to equal opportunity that racial and ethnic minorities and women perceive and experience in STEM careers pose a significant problem in our national quest for social and racial justice — and for our economic strength. STEM jobs are rightly seen as a bridge to upward mobility and long-term financial security. But if women and minorities are excluded or perceive themselves as being less welcome in STEM fields, we all suffer as a nation” (Orrell and Cox). Orrell and Cox went even further to explain that not only are these jobs not given to women as much to young white males, but the minority groups that aren’t asian american, pacific islander, or hawaiian backgrounds admit that blacks go through way more than them same with latinos, however not all white individuals think that blacks and lationos go through way more than them due to them honestly not knowing what is going around and not being observant or they honestly think that is how the black individuals should be working 10 times as hard compared to them as if it is a normal.

• Magazine Article

Harvard Business Review author Joan C. Williams writes the article “The 5 Biases Pushing Women Out of Stem” to inform and showcase this issue to readers that are most likely educators, students, businessowners, and workers who reads the Harvard Business Review. Williams writes about 5 different patterns that she has seen and researched that are keeping women out of the STEM field. Williams explains that she and others “conducted in-depth interviews with 60 female scientists and surveyed 557 female scientists, both with help from the Association for Women in Science. These studies provide an important picture of how gender bias plays out in everyday workplace interactions. My previous research has shown that there are four major patterns of bias women face at work. This new study emphasizes that women of color experience these to different degrees, and in different ways. Black women also face a fifth type of bias” (Williams). William talked about how “Black and Latina women are particularly at risk for being seen as angry when they fail to conform to these restrictive norms. A biologist noted that she tends to speak her mind very directly, as do her male colleagues. But after her department chair angrily told her, “Don’t talk to me like that” she felt she had to “put cotton candy in my mouth.” She now does a lot of deferring, framing her requests as, “I can’t do this without your help.” She explains, “I had to put him in that masculine, ‘I’ll take care of it role’ and I had to take the feminine ‘I need you to help me, I need to be saved’ role.’” A cancer biologist reported that she refrained from getting too animated in lab meetings, lest she trigger the “angry black woman” stereotype” (Williams). Williams talks about how black and latino women’s jobs are often at risk due to the fact that they seem angry when they are forced to change their way to the particular normal in an office, classroom, hospital or research lab. These women instead of being seen as equal and educated they are brought down into that stay-at-home woman stereotype where they need to make the men feel as if they need to be their knights in shining armor and help them with whatever they need just to satisfy their masculinity. Williams also pointed out that in their “new study uncovered a fifth pattern of bias that seems to apply mainly to black and Latina women. On our survey, 42% of black women agreed that “I feel that socially engaging with my colleagues may negatively affect perceptions of my competence,” only slightly more often than Latinas (38%), Asian-American women (37%), and white women (32%) – but in our interviews, black women mostly mentioned this pattern. ‘A lot of times,’ said a microbiologist, ‘There are things that people exclude me from because they say, ‘Oh, she’s going to be the only black person there… just don’t invite her, she won’t feel comfortable.’ ‘You don’t know who you can trust,’ said a biologist. ‘This has been a very lonely life.’ In some cases, the women intentionally kept their personal lives hidden in order to maintain their authority. One scientist said she avoided socializing with her colleagues because ‘to me, that lessens your authority.’ ‘I do not discuss personal things with people,’ said another microbiologist. ‘Judge me for me, not my personal life.’ She said she kept her personal life separate because ‘I don’t want anything in my family life to be used against me’” (Williams). Williams showcases the fact that the majority of black women are seen as if they aren’t as good as their other colleagues and that if they let people know about their personal lives and try to build connections to be more closely knit, they can’t because someone knowing their personal life can trigger them to think even less of them when talking about certain stuff. Williams went even further in explaining that they aren’t invited to certain events and parties with their colleagues even if it is just a barbeque because they aren’t the same skin tone as their other invitees.

• Relationships between the rhetorical elements of sources

I think that the even though all of these sources were used to inform the public about what is going on the best ones to let not just educators and student know what is going on, but also the public was the news article and the Harvard business review article. Since most people read these articles especially, those in higher places who can cause a change to happen read these articles and maybe reading what is going on in these STEM workplaces can open up their minds and cause them to act on it. The other sources like the scholarly article and website are more general towards a certain audience like educators, students, and people who are looking up these topics specifically so that audience would read about what is going on, but they could merely be a student who can’t really do anything, but start a petition or it could be a black individual in this situation who is looking it up to see if they are alone in this or a non-black or latino person who is realizing what is going on in their workplace or classrooms and looked it up to see if this happens in the world as well. In the articles such as the news article and the Harvard Business Article they have to be more formal in addressing these topics and more cautious in the word choices that they use as well so that it doesn’t seem like a bias compared to the website which is more of a personal preference even though it is based on a journal article and the same with the scholarly article (research paper) since that is purely based off of research and proving whether or not their hypothesis of the study is refute or acceptable.

In the end of it all the main point is that black women are discriminated in STEM fields whether they are a student, educator, researcher, doctor, etc. they have felt the heat from their peers or boss about being a black person and on top of that a woman in these fields. Sadly, there hasn’t been a change to this as of yet, but hopefully in the further years people start to realize what is going on and happening and that this is deterring these young women from wanting to go into a STEM field which is a steady job flow that will help provide for their family’s generations later. And that they rather going into jobs such as lower end jobs (waiting tables, McDonald’s workers, etc.), acting, singing, and sports since that is all they see their race succeeding in.

 

Works Cited

McGee, Ebony O. and Lydia Bentley. “The Troubled Success of Black Women in STEM.” Cognition and Instruction (2017): 265-289.

O’Donnell, Ginger. Study Shows that Women of Color Face Highest Barriers to Employment in STEM. 19 August 2019. 29 September 2021.

Orrell, Brent and Daniel Cox. Blacks, Latinos feel unwelcome in STEM careers. And that’s a big problem for our economy. 28 July 2020. 29 September 2021.

Williams, Joan C. The 5 Biases Pushing Women Out of STEM. 24 March 2015. 29 September 2021.