Commonly referred to as "the leaky science pipeline," fewer and fewer women show interest in science as they make their way through their educations and into the working world. Although it is more of a trend than a steadfast rule, it is a nationwide issue that is present in Massachusetts and, at times on Boston College's campus. While the number of female science majors at BC varies from year to year, it is still more likely that one would walk into a predominantly male upper-level chemistry, physics, or computer science class than one that is mostly female.
No one is able to explain why far more women than men are turned off by science, but it is a problem that people have been trying to combat since the early sparks of feminism began to fly. One of the most recent fighters in this battle is Elizabeth O'Day, BC '06. O'Day was a biochemistry major who was disheartened by the ever-shrinking number of females in her classes, and even more so by girls in high school who didn't think that science was something they were interested in.
In an effort to help plug up the leaks in the pipeline, O'Day started the Women in Science and Technology Program (WST) in 2006. Ultimately, WST hopes to foster a desire in girls to continue to pursue science in college and as a career.
WST was such a success that it was continued this year, headed by Kate Pierce and Meghan Griffin, two biochemistry majors and A&S '07. Their love of science and desire to encourage girls to get involved with the field which attracted them to the program in 2006. One of the reasons why Pierce decided to come back to direct the WST was because she felt that more could be done with the program by "reaching out to a more underprivileged and diverse crowd … girls who don't have the opportunity to do chemistry experiments in their science classes," she said.
While faculty members Mary Roberts, Lynne O'Connell, and Clare O'Connor are all advisors to the program, the WST is mainly student-run. Pierce and Griffin are accompanied by 16 other undergraduate females who are all majoring in the sciences and are involved with research. Everyone involved with the WST is extremely interested and dedicated to the program.
This year, WST expanded to include two new schools, Boston Latin and North Cambridge Catholic, in addition to Braintree High and Trinity Catholic, both of which were involved with the program last year.
Griffin explained how the goal was to target high schools that would not be likely to have the funding to have well-equipped science labs.
Girls who are interested in participating in the program are asked to fill out an application. Griffin explained that, when choosing girls for the WST, their grades are not really what matters. The WST looks "for the potential to spark some interest and expose them to new things," said Griffin.
From the four schools, about 45 to 50 girls applied and 24 sophomores and juniors were chosen for the 2007 program. This year, the WST decided to accept fewer girls because, as Griffin explained, the program would "lose some of its value" if there were more girls involved, and "even if the groups had two more people, some of the girls could get lost in the shuffle," said Griffin.
"It would be great to expand it and I would definitely want that to happen, but I don't think we have the resources," said Pierce. The main problem is that there aren't enough female undergraduates with research experience that are willing to participate in the program.
The WST splits the participants into five groups with about five students and two to three undergraduate leaders in each, allowing the girls to receive personal attention.
The undergraduate leaders serve as both teachers and role models. Kaitlin Quinn, A&S '07, is one of the undergraduate group leaders.
"Just seeing that we're happy at school and working in labs and majoring in science … gives the high school girls a feel for what it would be like if they majored in science," she said.
The girls come to BC every Saturday morning for one month. In the lab, three of the groups focus on chemistry while the other two do work pertaining to biology. The chemistry groups complete labs addressing a different theme each week, while the biology groups tend to continue one project for the entire four weeks.
In addition, the girls listen to guest speakers either at BC or on-site at a local company or science center. This enables the girls to see the many different ways that science is used in everyday life.
The program began on March 17, and already this year, the girls have listened to Lisa Holmes, a member of the Boston College Police Department (BCPD) and former homicide detective, and have visited the Weston Observatory, a geophysical research laboratory owned by BC that monitors seismic activity for the entire Northeast.
This weekend, they will visit the New England Wildlife Center. The girls will complete their experience with a trip to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where they will see how scientists are conducting research associated with the treatment and prevention of cancer.
At the end of the four weeks, the participants are asked to make a poster demonstrating their work in the lab, much like what is done by real researchers. Then, there is a banquet where they present the posters and show off their work to their families and BC faculty members.
After providing $5,000 to fund the WST in 2007, the University has shown its desire to make the program an official on-campus organization in the coming year. n
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