For Women like Me
February 14, 2011
I was in a room with the late Adriel D. Johnson, Sr. when he lifted his glasses to his forehead and asked, “Ms. Blanchard, will you be doing the Ph.D.?”
I thought, Who? Me? Do I dare go for a doctoral degree, and in engineering?
The question stuck with me though, and I thought for a moment about my graduate experience in the College of Engineering at the University of Alabama, Huntsville, and realized that I had not seen many women like me. We had very few black women in the seats and none in front of the classroom teaching.
Unfortunately, this was not a phenomenon limited to my university. Data from the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Earned Doctorates found that in 2006, black women earned about 1.4 percent of doctorates awarded in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in the United States. Our white counterparts earned 17.9 percent while white males earned 30.4 percent. The difference is staggering, even after accounting for population differences.
Research by AAUW also highlights the issues that women like me face. Where the Girls Are: The Facts about Gender Equity in Education illustrates how disparities in race and income are critical factors in the achievements of both girls and boys. Black and Hispanic children score lower on standardized tests than white and Asian American children. After reading Why so Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, I realized how social and environmental factors contribute to the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields.
Sometimes it seems women like me have two battles to fight, but there is hope. Small changes in setting the right environment for achievement for girls and college women can make a difference in closing the gaps. And sometimes it’s not about having all the right answers, but asking the right questions, such as “will you be doing the Ph.D.?”
So yes, Dr. Johnson, I will earn that Ph.D. (in engineering), not just for me, but for women like me.
This post was written by AAUW National Student Advisory Council member Lisa Blanchard.
By:
AAUWguest | Issue: Campus, Career and Workplace, Community, Education & Training | Tags: Research, Student Leadership | February 14, 2011
Well, Madgerie and others, I guess you were right! I graduate in May 2013! Whoo hoo!
Lisa
you go girl!!! If you can dream it you can achieve it. I left my family and friends and went all the way to New Zealand to do my PhD. Home folks thought I was crazy. I went completed it on time and I am now in academia.
All the best.
Madgerie
Thanks Susan and Esther.
I am so sorry to hear about your experience, Susan. Unfortunately, you are (still) not alone. Thank you for sticking through it for Women Like Me.
Go for it!!!!!! Very encouraging indeed!
My PhD in Operations Management diploma arrived today from a university that ignored my pleas to deal with a professor who was a pervert, slanderous misogynistic department chairs, self-hating female faculty, a corrupt EEO office in cahoots with a do-nothing corrupt dean of the business school, etc. In 2008, after four years of abuse, watching my polite friend get bounced out in spite of unanimous support from a grievance committee, and finally being told I would not be allowed to finish the degree, I wrote to the President and Provost. They removed the dean and did nothing for me. My committee are all exceptional people and I finally defended this fall, two years later. More hoops were thrust in front of me as I submitted my electronic dissertation while others’ failed to meet basic APA requirements. I did my best to shoot through those hoops until the gatekeeper left the country for a month, pretending to forward my questions for clarification which remained unanswered until well after his mid-January return. This time, I skipped over the gatekeeper, department chair, dean, provost, and president and went to the Board of Regents for the State of Ohio.
My crime was being smart and not being afraid to be smart. My hope for you is that you land in a place that does not fear excellence as mine did. If you do land in such a place get out fast and cut your losses. I tried to do so but was limited by my desire to avoid disrupting my adolescent child’s life. Instead, she watched me demand to be treated with decency and then fight back with a fierceness I had forgotten I possessed. You can take the girl out of the East Coast, but you can’t take the East Coast out of the girl.
It’s outrageous that any of us still has to fight like hell and I hope you won’t but I will never regret what I did to get this piece of paper that shows so little of what I had to do to get here. I won’t frame it for my wall because the spineless university president signed it. Lester Lefton doesn’t deserve a place on my wall or in any place of honor.
Lisa, get that degree and help create a better world for all who come after you, women and men of all ethnicities who value integrity, decency, and diversity.
Thanks Judy! I appreciate the encouragement.
Go for it, Lisa. My daughter has an engineering Ph.D. and is a university professor. It took time and effort but it is possible.
Your professor had faith in your ability to do it or he would not have asked the question. There are some folks out there who are trying to break some of the barriers in front of you — keep going yourself and continue to share your success for others who may choose to follow.