According to the American Association of University Women , women make up about 28% of the workforce when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math fields, known as STEM.
This under-representation is particularly noticeable in engineering and computer science, in which female majors make up a respective 21% and 18% of their nationwide classes.
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This long-standing statistic has inspired efforts to encourage the interest of young women towards the sciences and calls to strengthen opportunities for women already pursuing that interest.
But while such efforts often sound like they’re going on unopposed, it’s worth remembering that there’s always someone out there interested in maintaining the status quo.
And as we’re about to see, they have a way of coming out of the woodwork when women start moving into traditionally male-dominated fields .
But through her ability to harness the goodwill and support of those who want to see the world change, one student is doing her part to ensure the naysayers don’t get their way.
After a November speech at the National Conservatism Conference, Boise State University political philosophy professor Scott Yenor gained some viral infamy for saying that women shouldn’t be recruited into engineering.
According to Good Morning America , he said that creating more opportunities more women to flourish here and in law and medicine is a result of “feminist culture” leading to desire for “less male achievement.”
He appears to be under the impression that the inequality we see in STEM fields isn’t the result of systemic factors, but the natural result of the “excellence” of male candidates.
But if this screed left a sour taste in the internet’s mouth, it caused an uproar at Boise State University.
And while 20-year-old marketing major Ally Orr initially responded to footage of him saying this on social media, she quickly felt the need to do more.
As she put it, “This is something that makes me so mad and I can’t just wait for someone else to do something.”
So after she saw someone suggest that the school establish a Women in STEM, Medicine, and Law Scholarship, she decided to undertake that mission herself through a GoFundMe campaign and reached out to over 600 professors, other faculty members and staff to drum up support.
In her words, “I feel like my whole college career, I’ve always been taught to stand up for what you believe in, stand up when other people are being oppressed or discriminated against.”
But when she actually went about doing that, there were moments when the potential consequences of standing against people like Yenor made her nervous.
As it turned out, however, Orr didn’t need to worry as thousands of dollars would be donated within hours of her launching the campaign and interest for her fundraiser would blossom nationwide.
Not only has the campaign raised $70,101 as of the time of this writing, but a representative from the university named Mike Sharp has confirmed that it has resulted in an endowed scholarship that will see eligible students awarded with $2,000 this year.
And since its endowment will be awarded based on how the scholarship continues to grow, the campaign is still up and collecting donations in the hopes that it becomes permanent.
And Orr hopes that this scholarship will help reinforce women who often feel devalued or unsupported while they’re working towards scientific excellence.
In her words, “So I hope this scholarship shows women that there is support and you’re needed. Everyone needs to have the same opportunities and we need all ideas and all opportunities and all experiences in every field.”
h/t: Good Morning America
