Advocating for Women in STEM at Trinity

Women's History Month posters in CSI, showing important female scientists (Photo by Victoria Abad)

Frances Stone. (Photo courtesy of Frances Stone)

By Victoria Abad

Frances Stone is just 20 years old but already a legend at Trinity, as “the pinnacle of women in STEM.”

Stone is a junior studying physics, heavily involved in dance, community service and academic extracurricular activities (she is an algebra tutor). She is also the only female student in her major in the class of 2019. However, without facing many adversities of being a minority in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), she has found support and encouragement in the Trinity community.

As the only woman in some of her classes, she has witnessed first-hand the under-representation of females in STEM fields. “It’s something I’m definitely always aware of,” said Stone. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, in 2017 only 30 percent of STEM degree holders were women.

Panel Addresses Gender Gap in STEM Fields

By Davis Mathis

Several Trinity University professors voiced concerns over the gender gap in the STEM fields on Thursday and shared their own experiences of gender discrimination.

Professors Kelly Lyons, in biology, Marilyn Wooten, in chemistry, Hoa Nguyen, in mathematics, Niescja Turner, in physics and astronomy, and Veronica McDonald, an engineer and Trinity alumnus, spoke at a panel hosted by Trinity Diversity Connection (TDC) and Trinity Women in Science and Technology (TWIST).

Science, technology, and math are widely known to be male dominated fields, but that isn't the full story, the panelists pointed out. To them, the discrimination and harassment they have experienced seems to be more of an active effort to keep women out rather than something that occurred naturally.