Maggie is a third year PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA. She is the FY21 Undergraduate Mentoring Match Coordinator (UMMC).
March 8th marks International Women’s Day, a day that is based in celebrating the accomplishments of women around the world and focused on a “future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all” (UN Women). This year the theme for today is trying to achieve this vision in the wake of COVID-19 and how the leadership of women has driven positive change and progress all over the world.
Even though it might not feel like it, regardless of your age or background, through your leadership and experiences you have the opportunity to claim space at the table where decisions are made. Looking at the space around Women in STEM there are so many things that can be done. Personally, my GradSWE Section, along with other Women in STEM groups on UCLA’s campus are putting together a summit on Women in STEM (April 8-10) and different ways to break some of the barriers that we face. This has been a large undertaking for me and the others working on it, but someone once said to me that any step forward, no matter how small it might seem at first is better than no step forward at all. If you are looking for what your first step forward could be, here are some ideas:
- Have “difficult” conversations with people. Raise awareness to racial and gender bias and discrimination.
- Look to mentor other women in STEM. You can be a mentor/mentee at any stage in your career. There is always room for you to teach and there is always room for you to learn.
- Spotlight other women in STEM and some of the work that they are doing. If there is something that you saw someone else do that interested you, share it with people that you know!
Have a great International Women’s Day!