亚洲AV

More women in STEM is this group鈥檚 benchmark

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For Areeba Qureshi and Aiza Asam, president and vice president, respectively, of 亚洲AV鈥檚 student-run organization STEMinists, their mission statement is clear.

two women standing by a decorated bench
Areeba Qureshi (left) and Aiza Asam of the student organization STEMinists. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

鈥淭he number of women in STEM fields is very low compared to the number of men,鈥 Qureshi said. 鈥淲e really want to battle that gender difference and increase women who are in science and engineering.鈥

The numbers do tell the story.

According to the Computer Research Association鈥檚 national 2020-21 , women accounted for just 22.3% of bachelor鈥檚 degrees in computer science, 17% in computer engineering and 22.7% in information technology.

Mason鈥檚 graduation numbers mostly mirror those statistics, with women accounting for 19% of computer science degrees in 2020-21, 18% in computer engineering and 25.6% in information technology.

For Asam, the numbers also speak to ethnic sensibilities.

鈥淲e are children of immigrants,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o immigrants, most of them don鈥檛 have a good idea of what STEM fields are. To them, career opportunities are very simple, very basic, like lawyer, doctor. There are roles for women outside of what they鈥檙e used to. They just need an outside source to give them that information, that inspiration.鈥

STEMinists is only a bit more than a year old, but claims 183 members on its .

Qureshi and Asam, both senior majors, have been there from the start, and collaborated on painting the colorful STEMinists bench you can鈥檛 miss as you walk north on campus past SUB I.

The organization is active.

In March, the group put on an in-person speaker event that drew an audience of 30 and included Ali Karim, founder of Global Shout, a nonprofit that, according to its website, helps those in need around the world attain the essential goods, tools and expertise to improve their lives; Lorraine Waltz, director of oncology at Virginia Hospital Center; and Soha Mohammed, a medical student at Howard University.

An event about networking is planned for next spring. There also is a planned partnership with Women in Bio, an organization of professionals that promotes careers, leadership and entrepreneurship for women in the life sciences. The groups will join forces, that will help develop prospects for internships and jobs.

That STEMinists has grown so rapidly is a testament to Mason鈥檚 culture, said Asam, who transferred to Mason from Northern Virginia Community College.

鈥淚 always say this to everyone, but I just love how diverse Mason is and how you can learn so many new things just by having a conversation,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t gives me a sense of unity, which is very nice.鈥

Even so, STEMinists had some growing pains.

鈥淏efore every single meeting we were always panicking. 鈥業s anyone going to show up?鈥欌 Asam said. 鈥淏ut we always have somewhat of a turnout and it always makes us happy.鈥

鈥淚 feel like we accomplished something,鈥 Qureshi said. 鈥淚 feel like we鈥檙e making a difference.鈥

For more information about STEMinists, go to its Instagram page .