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Are you a repressed STEM gal? The STEM Revolution

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By Kathy Korman Frey

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) had a recent blog post shouting out favorite STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math) women of the screen.

Here was my line of thinking:

…I love AAUW.

…I love TV.

…I love STEM.

…I am going to comment on this…

So first it started with a simple comment.

Then, I felt myself drawn back to the post. Like a magnet. And not just because I was working all morning with my son on his science project having to do with magnets.

 

Then, I got a little carried away on the @AAUW site.

My comment had so many links, it got caught in the spam filter at AAUW. Thanks to the merciful moderator at @AAUW who let it through. I also realized I misspelled “tattoo,” but, not having a tattoo, I’ll take a Mulligan on that one.

I think my inner STEM gal has been waiting to come out for a long time.  It’s been repressed. Is yours?

Are you a repressed STEM gal?

Are you intrigued by science, math, engineering or tech in any way (even as a consumer)….but….

a. Do you think you’re not “good at math” or have you ever said that?

b. Do you believe that, unless you took Organic Chemistry, you are pretty much plankton in the science food chain?

c. Do you think that SEPHORA and STEM somehow don’t go together?

d. Did you opt for the easiest science or math class possible for your college requirement, and flee – perhaps screaming and/or whimpering slightly – to liberal arts?

If you answered “yes” to one or more of the above, you MAY be a repressed STEM gal.

M – Math

Me, I answered yes to “a”. I used to say I wasn’t good at math. This was, of course, before I met business math. Business math is so practical. It made sense to me.  So much more sense than calc.  Wow. It was an eye opener. But, I only had the chance to experience business math because of an accident.

I was an English Major. I dropped my resume in the wrong box (yes, we had actual BOXES then Gen Yers. Lol and dot dot smiley face). They hired me, I got hooked on business, and now, I can run valuation matrices with the best of them.

When I started my own company, I was uncannily adept at doing sales projections.

I had to then force myself to ask the question: “Am I REALLY a non-math person?”

That would probably be a “no”.

T – Tech

I started working down the STEM categories. Why not? The door was busted wide open now. I had always been techy and was an early adopter. I went to computer camp and learned to program when I was young. My mom was a programmer. My husband wants to send the kids to college and retire. I want to send them to college and develop an app.

S – Science

Heck, I know a mom of one of my son’s classmates who is doing her med school residency right now. I make sure my daughter has a female pediatrician and already call her “Dr. Frey” when she takes care of me or someone in the house.  My son wants to run a lab. I am writing a book for girls, and the mom in the book works at NASA. What else you ladies got?

E – Engineering

I come downstairs and entire cities are built in my house, by my children, hopefully with nothing breakable. My son is particularly into engineering sling shots. Not all of these work out in the dog’s favor. But, we Google various ancient weapons of mass destruction and have a lot of fun. I make sure his sister puts down the wand and gets in on it.

Are you engineering a STEM revolution for yourself, or in your home?

 

Have you been repressing your inner STEM gal?

 

14 thoughts on “Are you a repressed STEM gal? The STEM Revolution”

  1. From Twitter, what a great story from a Dad Dave of @ddamarketing in response to my tweet:

    Kathy Korman Frey @ChiefHotMomma
    Ever said “I’m not good at math?” Weigh in on @HotMommasProj http://ow.ly/9ms6J #wgbiz #worklife #entrepreneur

    Dave Scarangella ‏ @ddamarketing
    3 yrs ago, daughter said “Dad, girls can’t do math.” My reply: “not in this house.” Did hmwork together, and she’s made A’s

  2. Thank you @AAUW! From the Twittersphere….liking our post…

    AAUW ‏ @AAUW

    Y we luv @ChiefHotMomma: Are you a repressed STEM gal? The STEM Revolution | The Hot Mommas Project ow.ly/9lzyM RT

  3. I am not a repressed STEM gal, in fact I because I don’t enjoy those disciplines doesn’t mean I can’t do them or don’t think they are necessary. In fact, in HIGH SCHOOL, I worked as a QA technician in an egg factory and was responsible to checking food safety for literally thousands of pounds of product throughout my shifts, including temperature control, safety seals, weight averages and ph testing.

    Aspects of STEM are represented in nearly every discipline. As a marketer, I have to use some of those basic math skills to prove ROI on a campaign. I value statistics to back up my social media strategy, just like you have done with sales projections. In fact, I even blogged about this subject last spring: http://www.vimm.com/marketers-must-like-math/ I think the KEY to any career is to look at a whole picture and find value and embrace the liberal arts and STEM aspects of each job. Any other people thinking this way out there?

    1. Sarah, I am not getting it. On one hand, it sounds like you don’t like it. On the other hand, it sounds like you do and are pretty much a rock star at it. My guess is, you mean “I’m not into engineering” but “I’m pretty awesome at these other things.” Si?

  4. Pingback: 7 Women in Business Resources (Weekly Round-Up) - Women Grow Business

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  6. KBKF my amazing wonderful college roommate who graciously let me borrow her laptop for papers – it was 1989!!!! Why did I major in women’s studies and not you? Why did we both despise calculus? Whatever the reasons I’m so happy you are engaging us in these dialogues. Rock on, STEM smarts for girls. Xo-

    1. Bren, So funny. I was taking all these gender and literature classes with Eric Lott at UVA and loving it. I guess there were early signs. And getting very riled up by the “Taming of the Shrew” and such. But now, my goose is cooked. I have a daughter and even after working in male dominated environments for years, I have to face realities of the world my little girl, and her brother, face. I don’t let him call her stupid. I call out every single time on TV when someone uses a female term as an insult. Maybe it’s over-kill, but, hey – so it goes growing up in Chez Frey. xo babe. Keep the Zenith DOS Laptop memories alive.

  7. An amalgamation of tweets after attending the Harvard Busines School US Competitiveness Project presentation last night in DC, and realizing we are not doing nearly enough in STEM (among other things):

    Harvard Business School – Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness – Did America “Drop the Ball?” Scroll down http://ow.ly/bKSAA

    Inaugural 100 Women Leaders in STEM | Honored at US News Stem Solutions Conference http://ow.ly/bKRvx @STEMConnector

    AAUW Seeking Successful Programs in STEM for Women at Community Colleges | http://news.mentornet.net

    White House/National Science Foundation Announce Workplace Flex Policies to Support America’s Scientists,Families http://ow.ly/bKRRe #STEM

    National Girls Collaborative Project: Directory of STEM Programs for Girls http://ow.ly/bKSSu

    The Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology-Women of Vision Award is inspirational! Subscribe to newsltr. http://ow.ly/bKSre #STEM

    1. Ah ha, yes. The pink and neon number:

      “The EU have funded a campaign to make women in science wear shorter skirts. #sciencegirlthing,” wrote Bad Science author and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre.

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/eus-science-for-girls-campaigns-spark-a-backlash/2012/06/22/gJQAOi1HvV_blog.html

      Although, the person in the article said it did increase visits to the site. But….it’s that gender in literature in thing “women are to be looked at / men are to act” and when we fall into the trap we steal their power. Hey wait, there’s an English Major in there somewhere.

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