THE STEM PROJECT - ON WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

  The third session, following the two introductory sessions, was on the empowerment of women. In this session, Karla To wrap up the session, the students partook in an empowerment activity, in which they presented their STEM Brunello presented statistics first showing how many field of interest and one object, person, or phrase that women and their talents were wasted in the world, mpowered them. Ms. Brunello gave the example of an especially in Italy. The numbers also showed that the quote by Virginia Woolf. "A woman must have money and a inclusion of more women in the workforce can increase productivity and widen perspectives, with multiple room of her own if she is to write fiction." She explained how while women may have desired to have a literal room examples of how firms with women in high leadership positions did better than those led by men. Why then, are in the past, now we must establish "a room" in the form of systems and laws that protect women from prejudices to women so disparaged in the workplace? Ms. Brunello advance in the world of STEM. Many students raised their explained that this situation is a result of stereotypes, culture, and unconscious biases during the recruitment parents as inspiring figures. They were especially prominent influences for Ebube Ebokosia, whose father encouraged process that prevent women from entering the workforce, her to take the path of a STEM carrier, and Emma D'andria, and deter women to continue working due to harassment and pay differences. However, while admitting that whose mother left work to raise children and returned to women tend to be considered more sensitive and her carrier afterward. In the following sessions, the program will introduce young emotional, she proposed the idea that these traits, often female students to university courses and careers in STEM seen as weaknesses can be strengths, as they allow them while also conducting soft skill workshops and appointing to link human relationships to success. She introduced a field-specific mentors who will guide the students through new prevailing system of blind recruitment that helped their experiences working as a woman in a STEM career. mitigate personal biases, and how this system, when introduced to the long men-dominated New York Philharmonic, resulted in an almost equal number of men and women.
  Ms. Brunello claims that there is something we can do to overcome the biases that the world places on us. We must be assertive, respectively but loudly put forward our opinions, be resilient, not give up a carrier due to a single setback, and collaborate with other women to create a supportive sisterhood. She explained how, often, it is not only men that prevented women from success, but women themselves that, out of jealousy or spite, guide others to failure. By implementing the mirror exercise in which you compete only with your reflection- your present and past self- we can focus on our growth without sacrificing the success of others.

  To wrap up the session, the students partook in an empowerment activity, in which they presented their STEM field of interest and one object, person, or phrase that empowered them. Ms. Brunello gave the example of a quote by Virginia Woolf. "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction." She explained how while women may have desired to have a literal room in the past, now we must establish "a room" in the form of systems and laws that protect women from prejudices to advance in the world of STEM. Many students raised their parents as inspiring figures. They were especially prominent influences for Ebube Ebokosia, whose father encouraged her to take the path of a STEM carrier, and Emma D'andria, whose mother left work to raise children and returned to her carrier afterward. In the following sessions, the program will introduce young female students to university courses and careers in STEM while also conducting soft skill workshops and appointing field-specific mentors who will guide the students through their experiences working as a woman in a STEM career.

Emma Luisa Tobe