Advocating for Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) through Podcasting

I became interested in science and technology as I had always been fascinated by my father’s career who worked for a mechanical engineering company. However, my parents were unsure of my interest in entering the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) field as they believed that I suited another discipline. Despite feeling discouraged, I tried to figure out my interests by joining an organization dedicated to the advocacy of women engineers and entering competitions dedicated to inspiring girls in the STEM field. From joining activities that advocated for the growth of women in the STEM field, I learnt of the lack of women representation in the STEM field and its lack of coverage. Through gaining awareness of the lack of representation women have in STEM, I decided to spread the awareness regarding the issue myself. After careful consideration in approaching the topic, my goal is to produce a podcast revolving around the involvement of women in STEM and their work in the field. The podcast will be an interview-based podcast inviting women affiliated with the STEM field to discuss their experiences in the STEM field and various ways to encourage the increase of women participating in the STEM field. Creating a podcast while interacting with other women in the STEM field will help the podcast gain more insight on the issue. I justify the project to be challenging as I will need a deep understanding of the topic and conduct proper research in order to branch out the involvement of women in STEM in my podcast. I would need to be able to broaden my knowledge regarding the topic and understand the interviewees’ work towards having something new to discuss every podcast. I would also need to prepare a well-executed podcast that needs to be engaging towards the audience despite the heavy content it introduces.

Global Context

My project explores Science and Technological Innovation and Fairness and Development. My project is focused on Science and Technological Innovation as I intend to explore the innovations women could bring for scientific advancement. Science plays a pivotal role in our society’s development. By preserving a stigma surrounding women in the STEM field, technological development becomes harder despite having the same capabilities in implementing scientific principles to advance technology. However, to abolish the stigma surrounding women in STEM, we need to recognize the rights of women to participate in the field, which is where the Fairness and Development global context comes in.

Product

My project’s goal was to produce a podcast covering the contributions of women in the STEM field along with advocating for equity for women and girls in the field. From this goal statement, I produced a podcast titled Be the Representation! consisting of three episodes which were successfully released on Anchor and Spotify. I have managed to sum up the topics I had planned to cover in my three episodes with the help of my research. My podcast episodes covered topics including the importance of women's contribution in the STEM field, the barriers women face while pursuing a career in STEM, and the support women can find to navigate their interests in STEM including policies and frameworks implemented by the government and education systems. I provided in-depth questions to provide each episode with a deeper understanding of the topics covered. My podcast had hit the criteria specifications to an extent. I had achieved my goal through my chosen global context. I was able to explore Science and Technological Innovation by showcasing the importance of women's contribution to STEM and the everyday work of women who pursue STEM careers. Fairness and Development was showcased by presenting the impact made if women were given the same rights as men in pursuing a STEM career. The podcast has helped listeners realize the scientific advancements women could contribute to in the STEM field when a gender-inclusive field is created, achieving the global context and goal statement.

Listen to my podcast below!

Reflection

With the exploration of scientific and technological innovation and how women push forward advancement in STEM by advocating for equality for my project, I gained personal growth from both chosen global contexts, Scientific and Technological Innovation and Fairness and Development. Understanding how the misconception of women’s abilities limits their aspirations in STEM helped me realize the need to advocate on the issue by helping girls realize that they can contribute to scientific advancement. To achieve this, the podcast realized the need for equity for women in STEM and discussed how we as women can overcome gender biases that limit women in the education and working sector, as well as how society itself can support women to pursue STEM. Advocating on an unfamiliar platform on the issue has also taught me valuable lessons on how advocacy transforms people’s lives. The project was also an exploration of my self-interest in science and technology. Interviewing accomplished female scientists, engineers and technological entrepreneurs served as an encouragement to walk down a similar path in STEM. By the end of the project, I was more confident about my pursuit in the STEM field by the end of my project. Learning about my own guests’ accomplishments in STEM in face of the challenges discussed in the podcast helped me, just like my audience, visualize how I desire to contribute to scientific advancement.

IB Learner Reflection

Working on this project as an IB learner helped me develop my IB learner profile throughout the project that would be meaningful in the future. Ultimately, the project required me to be Knowledgeable as exploring subconcepts in my podcast episodes on the STEM field’s inherent gender gap required this specific IB learner trait. Being prepared on conversations of topics like gender inequality in the STEM field required a solid understanding of the topic. Delivering topics about women in STEM through advocating on my podcast required me to enrich my Communicator trait. I expressed my ideas and advocate for the participation of women in the STEM field through a thorough discussion with my guests. Not only was I able to communicate concepts such as gender biases to a wider audience, but I was also able to explore the perspectives of my guests and returned my perspective on the topic. This project was also an opportunity for me to learn the importance of personal well-being. Being two weeks behind my timeline, I lost control over my self-management to the point my mental health declined. My prime worry was missing scheduled interview dates and losing the chance to interview guests. However, I reflected on my problem and realized how unhealthy I was. This was where the Balanced trait came into play. I took the time to focus on balancing my activities to achieve personal wellbeing. My project was an opportunity to widen my knowledge on global issues and explore self-interests as an IB student taught to face a global world. However, as a person seeking self-development, this project was also an opportunity to realize my abilities and nourish life-long skills. In the end, this project was a pursuit to further pursue my passions and skills to be a global citizen in the future.