King’s Page
San Marcos has a multitude of compelling and unique clubs and extracurricular activities, as seen at the last club rush, on September 17th. One of those clubs is the Women In STEM club, which encourages female students to get involved in STEM and helps make the STEM community at San Marcos more welcoming and equitable. They meet over lunch every third Tuesday of the month in F-2, Ms. Lambert’s room, where they do fun experiments, explore the potential of STEM, and organize on campus. They also have an instagram account, where they post a weekly “STEMinist of the week,” which brings awareness to the achievements of female scientists or activists who have been overlooked in the past. Previous STEMinists have included figures such as Rachel Carson, Rosalind Franklin, and Katherine Johnson.
Some may ask why it is necessary to have a club specifically for women in STEM. Women have historically been severely disadvantaged in STEM, and continue to face severe roadblocks. On average, men earn 40% more than women in the same professions, over 50% of women in STEM professions have experienced some form of sexual harassment, and 65% of them report some kind of daily gender bias in the workplace. Only 35% of STEM graduates are women, a figure which hasn’t improved over the past decade.
Clearly, the field of STEM has issues with gender-based discrimination. Luckily, the Women in STEM club, founded in 2023 by Lily Wallace and Mya Shenoda is working to bring awareness to our campus.Co-President Lily Wallace said, “I chose to start the Women in STEM club after learning about the lack of representation, opportunities, and support for women in STEM fields and education. I wanted to ensure that girls interested in STEM have a space at San Marcos for their interests to thrive so that they are not discouraged from going into STEM fields by harmful stereotypes or biases. Supporting women in STEM is very important because it addresses the long-standing inequalities in fields that drive innovation and technological progress. Diverse teams are proven to solve problems more effectively and come up with more innovative solutions, so supporting women in STEM benefits society as a whole”.
Co-President Mya Shenoda continued, “Our purpose is to empower women to follow their passion for a career in STEM and recognize the obstacles that women face and have faced in STEM fields. Our goal is to educate San Marcos students about opportunities for women in science and to provide insightful connections with female role models in STEM, along with other San Marcos STEM students.”
Hopefully, in collaboration with other clubs and groups on campus like the GSA, MEChA, and Jewish Club, San Marcos can continue to become a more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming campus.