A team of 48 women and allies in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine) spanning six continents, including 16 coauthors, contributed to “Beyond the Pipeline.”
What you probably already know: Women hold more than a third of all science, technology, engineering, and math jobs in the U.S., but a recent study estimates 35% of women with STEM degrees quit within five years. A new book challenges the notion that women simply “leak” from STEM fields by examining the systemic barriers that push them out through the lens of dozens of scientists, engineers, academics, executives, entrepreneurs, stay-at-home parents, and allies from around the world. For editor and co-author Cassie Leonard, Beyond the Pipeline provides a rare sense of solidarity for women like her who have felt alone in their STEM journey, while offering crucial insights that can help drive change.
Why? The “leaky pipeline” metaphor puts the blame for leaving a STEM career on the individual and ignores what Leonard refers to as the push and pull factors. Burnout, imposter syndrome, and biases connected to intersecting identities are common culprits, but Leonard found menopause and perimenopause were among the contributing factors that are often overlooked. A recent study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that two-thirds of women aged 40 to 60 have had a negative experience with menopause in the workplace. Leonard said women in STEM are also nudged toward “soft skills,” such as roles in HR. “It feels like they’re being supportive because it’s a growth rule,” she said, “but it’s always a little away from the tech.”
Cassie Leonard is also the bestselling author of “STEM Moms.”
What it means: Women in STEM are redefining what success means to them. While the traditional, upward-movement trajectory — get into the system, perform well, progress to the next promotion, then retire at 65 with a pension — works for some, it doesn’t apply to all. “I had one job where I thought, if I could just retire in this chair and this job, I would be the happiest person in the world,” Leonard said. “But there's that push to keep going, so I took a leadership job after that, and I never made it back to that job. And (work) never was as fun ever again.” There’s no single definition of a successful STEM career. “If we can learn to measure ourselves by our own yardstick, our own metrics, and not judge everyone else for their version of success, that’d be a beautiful place to get to.”
What happens next: As the federal government and many big corporations distance themselves from diversity, equity, and inclusion policies — policies aimed at supporting minority groups such as women in STEM — Leonard said she’s noticed a recent push to celebrate meritocracy. “It just puts blinders up to the truths that we’re trying to elevate in this book, that there are biases, there are barriers,” she said. “Each individual person, as I found, can’t clearly articulate the barriers that they’re facing without the communities and the conversations, so when they hear these narratives that meritocracy should prevail, they start to feel pushed back down.” Change within the STEM system will take a concerted effort, starting at the top, with board members and executives embracing DEI as a crucial business strategy. Beyond the Pipeline suggests concrete actions that employees, managers, and companies can take to create a more inclusive workplace. “Start asking questions and then listen to the answers that you hear,” said Leonard, who added that male allies are critical to helping change the system. “We can’t keep having conversations in a vacuum where we talk about work-life balance and empowering ourselves. Just listen, learn, and then support in that order.”
— Story by Cambrie Juarez
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