(Posted on Feb 11th 2025, International Women and Girls in Science Day; Yes, there is such a thing!)
For over a decade now, there has been increasingly more social campaigning to get more more females in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). A few years ago, my employer also decided to highlight this topic and interviewed some female engineers about it. I was one of the interviewees. I don’t remember exactly what the questions were but at some I did say “Engineering and technology are incredibly interesting. Why wouldn’t everyone want to work in that? That’s the question!” I don’t want to go into the reasons of why there are disproportionately fewer females in STEM fields (that’s a topic in itself) but I do want to write some observations I have made in this male-dominated field.
#1 There may not always be a decent toilet around.
The plus side though is that if there is a female toilet, it will invariably be free because there is no one there to use it. Actually, when I was visiting my company’s headquarters in Japan, an internal joke was that if the guy’s toilet is too crowded, just use the ladies’ one, there’ll be no one there!
#2 You will stand out.
This is also a very good thing and a very bad thing. Being a female in a male environment, you stand out. This means that when you say something, it is heard and people remember you. This means better visibility for your ideas but it also means that you are in a spotlight all the time. Even if you slip by a millimeter, in your work, your conduct or gait, you will be noticed. I remember that back in engineering college in India, where the gender ratio was even more skewed than en engineering company (where at least the HR, sales, marketing, and cafeteria ladies balance the scale a bit), the girls couldn’t even sneeze without the boys, the hostel warden, the professors, and probably the dean noticing!
By the way, because everyone is watching your every step, you can’t afford to slip. Not only will no one ever forget it, you will also let every woman down. “See, women can’t work in engineering” they’ll say (or at least you think they will say). Thankfully, this type of thinking is on the decline.
#3 Negative sexism might annoy you.
Even though companies are doing their best to have a healthy work environment for all of their employees, females or otherwise (especially because being a “diverse opportunity provider” is a legal requirement and is socially “sexy”), they can’t change the mentality of the non-female employees or the society at large overnight. In engineering companies, the male-dominated employee-base can feel a little stifling, annoying or downright destructive to some female employees. Sometimes, though it is on decline, there might be some overt sexism. For example, during one of the professional trainings, our trainer made some really sexist (and racist) remarks. I promptly reported it to the HR and, to the credit of my employer, they investigated and eventually terminated their contract with the training company.
Of course, sexism is sometimes much more subtle than that and almost invisible. Even female employees can’t be sure if something is happening due to (implicit) sexism or not. For example, when one of your colleagues don’t value you work, you can’t simply yell “Sexism” because maybe this one colleague is simply a narcissist and doesn’t value anyone’s work apart from his own.
Though, many a times, you do notice the subtle/minor sexism. For example, I get many emails with “Mr Mittal”. The writers of such emails sometimes assume that an engineer has to be a male. Though, they can research the person on LinkedIn, including the pronouns he/she/they prefer. Not everyone does this research though!
#4 Positive sexism will definitely annoy you.
When someone is being nice to you, it’s a beautiful feeling but when they are just being nice because you’re female, it’s creepy and annoying. For example, one time, a colleague held the door for me (he didn’t do it for other male colleagues) and said “ladies first”, I actually said to him “Why? Are we in the 18th century already?”
I know it’s a controversial topic. Some women actually want men to open the doors for them, pull the chair for them, or help them with their bags (because they still believe in the ancient chivalry code for men!) but I am not one of them. I am perfectly capable of doing all that on my own and will ask for help if needed.
#5 All in all, Engineering is fun. Why wouldn’t everyone want to work in that?
What a delightful read, Prachi! We often get so accustomed to our surroundings that we stop questioning them. And you had me at “Engineering and technology are incredibly interesting. Why wouldn’t everyone want to work in that?”
Thank you so much for you comment, Astha 🙂