Dr. CHANDRA AND DR.MILLER'S PERSPECTIVE OF STEM
BY: FUTURE STEM LEADERS
Tahmina Feyezi
Anandita Hussain
Megan Leon
March 2021 ISSUE No.5
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH EDITION
With society came social constructs and the idea of gender roles. Women in STEM are beginning to grow as they are empowered by great leaders like Dr. Richa Chandra and Dr. Amber Miller. They envisioned a ladder of success for colorful women of all backgrounds to uplift each other.
With this ladder came steep steps and dark areas that brought a difficult journey to several women. During the pandemic, it was evident to the WISEcast team that women were struggling through lockdown and eventually leaving the workforce. Through their friendship, they created WISEcast, a podcast that confronts adversity in the STEM field for their audience to understand that they are not alone.
“Because we are having such challenging conversations, we were authoring these new relationships, and there’s power in that,” Dr.Chandra mentions.
In our conversation, we dived straight into the source of a gender gap in STEM fields. Both Dr. Miller and Dr. Chandra have children of their own and they shared the difficulties of working in strong positions while ensuring that their children are well taken care of. Along with expensive childcare, women in parenthood must learn to balance their children and their passion.
Although the product of COVID-19 has been negative for people globally, Miller has hopes for it to create new opportunities for women. She hopes for the idea of a remote setting to be flexible for extended maternity leaves.
“It may alleviate some of the burdens we feel in terms of coming back when you are ready,” Miller says.
International Women’s History Month is a time in which we can celebrate the change that leaders like Dr. Richa Chandra and Dr. Amber Miller can incite.
WISEcast is a space where women continue to uplift each other. By creating WiseCAST, they have opened a space where women can inspire and continue to uplift each other. It is spaces like these that lead to the future of women in STEM.
