No tags yet.
On February 19, Reddit user nishai started a thread on the subreddit /r/LadiesofScience titled “STEM career advice.” She began,
“I study Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, and I am applying
to university next year. I don't know what course I want to do,
or what career I want to pursue. I am leaning towards a
Biochemistry degree, but I am still open to other options.”
nishai then asked about the experiences of other women on the subreddit.
“What job do you have? What degree did you do? How much do you
earn? Are you happy?”
Within a few days, she had received over 30 responses.
Over the years, women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have developed professional networks such as 'Women Who Code' and 'Million Women Mentors.' But outside these networks, some women are finding Reddit a useful networking and information forum.
“Reddit is such a good place for discussion,” nishai--a 17 year-old from the UK--said over Reddit personal messaging. “The commenting system is pretty much the best out there for encouraging actual conversations.” “I've been in Oil & Gas for over 7 years.” responded user Msobelle to nishai's query. “My pay is more than 100K and less than 200K.”
“Undergrad in Bioengineering/Math, master's in Statistics, doctorate in Biostatistics,” responded cherise605.
“If you learn to program and have "domain expertise" you will be very valuable and can do a lot of really interesting work in scientific computing,” responded user heidhrun. “This was refreshing,” nishai said. “Where I am from, everyone who studies science is only ever encouraged to do Medicine. Before it felt like there was nothing else I could do other than Medicine.”
The Reddit platform is designed for 'subreddits,' much like 'topics' in other online forums. Subreddit /r/xxstem has generated 121 threads around women in STEM. /r/girlsgonewired has generated 430. /r/LadiesofScience has 990 threads, where as /r/TwoXChromosomes, which has become a go-to thread for female-specific topics, boasts thousands of threads, many focused on STEM fields. Threads titles in these subreddits include:
“What women have you learned about that have been inspiration for STEM growth?” “I want to be involved in STEM but have no idea how!” “[Venting] Frustrated Geologist—encouragement please?” “So I think my advisor is clearly sexist... What should I do?” “Ladies of Science I need help trying to find a summer bilogy [sic] field position that pays.” Jackie McGuire is a computer science major at Hunter College. Two weeks ago, she asked for advice on /r/girlsgonewired about setting up a STEM women's club at her school. She said she turned to reddit because she was not finding the help she needed elsewhere. “As a new transfer at a university and a current student, I didn't have a bunch of fellow women in STEM to ask (I barely saw any in my courses),” McGuire said. McGuire also said that in the world of online forums, Reddit is a cut about above the rest. “It's probably the most widely used forum that doesn't delete its threads automatically,” she said in an email response. “Reddit generally attracts the geekier / sciencey types, especially with more than a couple of subreddits that assist professionals and students alike.” Both nishai and McGuire said that the community on Reddit is still small and many STEM women subreddits are frequented by the same users. “I don't think the numbers of active users are terribly large,” McGuire said. But nishai, for one, will certainly return. "I was surprised and intrigued to see that subreddits like /r/LadiesofScience exist just for the discussion about women in STEM,” she said. “It really made me feel like if I ever had more questions to ask related to the STEM careers, I will definitely be able to ask the community and receive plenty of supportive and sincere advice.”