BiWeekly Roundup: March 17th

Hi Scientistas!

We know everyone is busy and there is a ton of information around the web that you may have missed. Luckily for you, we are here to the rescue! Every two weeks, we will be diligently combing through all the noise out there and highlighting stories about women and STEM from the web that we think you should know about.

Women are considered better coders but only when they hide their genders. Whaaa?! Read about the gender bias in software development companies here.

Another example of gender bias can be found in classrooms: Male students assumed their male classmates knew more about course material than female students — even if the young women earned better grades. Read more about this perception gap here.

A science competition in the U.K. recently awarded the top prize to a boy - except that the competition’s initial mission was to encourage girls in STEM. Awkward!

Feeling discouraged? Don’t be! Research shows that local support networks for graduate women in STEM help them overcome theses biases and stay in the field! We think that’s awesome and a topic we can definitely get behind :)

Recently, a controversial study came out saying that STEM fields are less sexist than they appear and that women are more likely to be interviewed for STEM jobs, but are less likely to apply. What do you think about the surprising results?

While women are underrepresented in STEM, there is even less representation for women of color. Check out this conversation between black women engineers in Silicon Valley as they talk about their feelings toward diversity.

And for some further inspiration, check out Kaya Thomas, a coder (and a junior in college!) who is bringing #BlackGirlMagic to the tech world.

Alexandra Elbayakan, a Russian neuroscientist, was tired of not being able to afford access to articles she needed to do her research, so she made 48 million journal articles available online - for free. And she’s not backing down. The Robin Hood of science? You can read more about it here.

One unfortunate but not too surprising reason many women quit STEM programs - sexual harassment. One scientist writes how one of her students received an email from a male colleague about how “incredible attractive” and “adorably dorky” she is, and she is not alone. 
 
 And finally, check out these articles about some really rad women in STEM!

If you don’t follow the IFLS blog, you should. Elise Andrew, the creator of the site, was just named one of Time Magazine’s 30 most influential people on the internet! Read more about her here.

Elena Bennet, an associate professor at McGill University, was awarded last month the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the first time the organization awarded its highest award to a woman - ever. Read a Q&A with the scientist about women in research and life in a lab coat.

You may have heard about Ada Lovelace, but did you know about Mary Anning? Check out three Great Female Scientists Of The Victorian Era.

Check out these six women changing the face of tech, and another 15 women dominating the tech industry!

And finally, even MORE women who are making a name for themselves in STEM: check out this greatlist of 15 scientists doing groundbreaking research.

 

---

Comments? Leave them below!