STEM Club President Profile: SOPHIA WARE

Sophia Ware (she/her) is a student at Piedmont High School and is Co-President of the PHS Green Club.

What is your name, age, and preferred gender pronouns? I am Sophia Ware, 17 years old, she/her pronouns.

What school do you attend and what club are you in leadership for at that school? I attend Piedmont High School and I am Co-President of the Piedmont Green Club.

What do you like about STEM/your club topic? I am very concerned about the Earth's future. There are catastrophic and irreversible changes happening to our global ecosystem. For a while I felt apathetic. I felt I had very little voice to call for change. However, Greta [Thunberg] and other youth environmental activists have made me realize we cannot afford to slip into apathy. We must act now. Everyone has a voice. Green Club provides a space for me and my peers to channel this passion and fight for the future of this planet.

Do you plan to pursue this topic more in higher education? Yes, I plan to major in environmental science, and pursue a career in this field.

How does it feel to be a woman in STEM at your school?

My school as a community strives for gender equity. However, in the past my school was infamous for the “fantasy sl*t league” and fostering other sexist cultures. There have also been many cases of sexual assault. The presence of this affects girls in school, whether they are in STEM or otherwise.

Do you feel supported in your pursuit of STEM or interest in STEM studies? Yes, I am lucky to have many STEM programs offered to me via school bulletins, email advertisements or family friends support. In recent years, there has been a push to include female identifying people in STEM. Unfortunately, many of the more prestigious programs are expensive​.

Who is your favorite woman in STEM/who is your STEM role model? I look up to and am inspired by Jeanne Panek PhD, who raised me to see the beauty of nature.

Do you have any thoughts about the ‘leaky pipeline’ and/or how to address it? (for context, the leaky pipeline is the metaphor used to describe how women ‘leak’ out of STEM at every level -high school, college, workforce- becoming an underrepresented group) Historically, jobs, education and so forth in the fields of STEM were limited to men. We are now experiencing a push for gender equality; a push to level the imbalance in gender representation. This means providing opportunities and encouragement to girls in STEM. While all of this is in the right direction, we have yet to address the history behind the imbalance; the moral nature of a system that kept not just women, but BIPOC, out of these fields. We must provide equity. Also, just a note, I believe we must step away from gender binary. But as this project advocates for female identifying people, I will only address male and female identifying people. America is a nation founded in inequality. This statement holds true when discussing race, gender and class, however, for the purpose of this [post] I will look solely into the issue of gender. When the words of the constitution were penned in 1776, married women did not have ownership of their bodies, the right to vote or property, to hold office or get a higher education. These rights were gradually given to women, however, the culture behind sexism did not cease with the swipe of a pen. The method of the oppression of women has evolved over time. Today it is reflected in unequal pay, unequal benefits, rape culture, objectification, and hyper masculinity. This culture, I believe, is accountable for the “leaking” of women from STEM. Women leave because they do not feel valued, respected or safe. We need to change how boys are raised. We should educate young boys about consent, respect and equity. These conversations should be frequent, and not limited to a class or an annual assembly. These lessons can come with the breaking down of toxic masculinity. We can teach men to stand alongside women as feminists; so that we can work as a united front towards gender equity.

And of course, we must teach young girls resilience. I think we should spend time with young boys teaching them respect humility and feminism. Make it “cool” again to evade the growing movement to re-domesticate women. “Simp culture” “SDE culture.” “Toxic masculinity” In the meantime, do not repeat stereotypes that girls are bad at STEM. Even in joking, it is harmful to a girl's growth as a learner and as a conduit person.