Being a Career Woman

Nazifa Rafa & Mohima Gomes

Courtesy : Preen

As the semester nears its end, new graduates are hit with the intimidation of turning over a new leaf of their lives. As many are looking to enter their career paths, it is worth exploring and learning the types of ways that they may be subjected to discrimination because of their gender, as well as how to tackle them. Gender discrimination in career fields is hardly a rare notion, but it is also rarely acknowledged. Professor Jacqueline Armijo, Associate Professor of the Humanities, has taught in several universities in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and the United States of America, and pointed out that the States tended to be where she experienced discrimination more. She described, “I remember when I would go to different universities to give talks, more senior scholars would be rude and dismissive in a way that, frankly, I found quite shocking.” On the contrary, she said, she had never felt dismissed for being a female in Qatar or the Emirates while working as a professor. She further shared with the Echo a recount of an acquaintance who had faced one of the harshest forms of discrimination. The acquaintance, who had been a professor at an American university, was informed by one of her colleagues that the male graduates and faculty members at the university would undermine her accomplishments. They had commented, “She only got to where she is because of who she slept with.”

Even though girls and boys show similar aptitude in math and science at school, the number of women significantly drops in STEM fields when they enter universities and careers. Often this happens because of conscious and unconscious bias from the society and family. Women’s achievements and interests in math and science are shaped by the environment around them. Professor Armijo described an incident that occurred soon after she had arrived in the US after conducting her PhD in China. Within two months of studying in an American school, her daughter had asked her, “Why are American girls so afraid of math?” The question left Professor Armijo dumbfounded, because even though she was aware of the fact that American girls were socialized to not like math and science, she hadn’t realized its effects had been so evident that her daughter would pick up on it that quickly.

Societies make STEM fields out to be challenging for women and categorize them as “male jobs.” This discourages many women from pursuing their passion in such fields. Professor Amina Akhter, Instructor of Computer Science, is one among the small group of women who were courageous enough to enter the daunting “male-dominated” STEM field. She gave us insight into the obstacles and challenges that she faced as a student and as a professor. She shared, “I was the only female student in the class of 60. I was sitting in a classroom for four years, with a feeling of total isolation. It was extremely challenging at that very young age.” Professor Akhter, in her undergraduate years, often felt ignored by her male classmates during group projects. “I felt isolated. The contribution that I should do in group projects, I’m unable to do that, not because of my incapability, but because of the environment,” she said. The male dominated environment made her feel extremely self-conscious and more introverted, which hindered her learning experiences. She often felt left out as she could not comfortably share her feelings, problems, difficulties or aspirations with her peers who were all male students.

Although she felt more comfortable in her work life because of the unique working environment at AUW, she, too in several instances, had her accomplishments undermined during her short span of time of working in other places. Many of the professionals working in the area still think that the female coworkers receive privileges by virtue of their gender. She pointed out, “Most of the women face two things. One is that they are deemed to be less competent than their male colleagues. But when they have proven themselves to be competent, they are less likeable. It’s a bitter truth.” Professor Akhter also acknowledged that the challenges that she faced has made her stronger, more resilient, and compatible to all types of working environments.

To attract more female students in STEM, she suggested, “Institutes should actively recruit female students and review admissions policies to ensure that departments are not unintentionally ‘weeding out’ potentially successful students. They should also provide mentoring for junior faculty and implement effective work-life balance policies to support faculty.” Confessing the difficulties of changing the mindset of an entire society, or perhaps, that of one’s own family members, Professor Akhter has advised to hone and thrive on the individual’s “growth mindset.” She explained, “There are two types [of mindsets]: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset always tells you ‘ignore the challenges,’ ‘don’t learn from the criticism.’ But the growth mindset tells you to embrace the challenges. You’ll learn from the difficulties, you’ll learn from the criticisms, and you’ll want to stand out.”

For women who find it daunting to enter a career path that is deemed as “male dominated” within and by their societies, she maintained, “You as an individual need to have a clear vision and be passionate about what you want to do. The noise of opinion of others should not let you move away from your passion. You should not be trapped by the dogma, rather work hard to reach your goals.” Similarly, Professor Armijo insisted, “I think there is something to be said for pursuing [your] passion. If you have an area of research that inspires you, challenges you, and excites you, it’s your responsibility to follow it.”