The Style Line

The Style Line's primarily goal is to tell stories about interesting people, doing interesting things. As noted in our welcome letter, we jumped at the chance to speak with self-proclaimed techie and founder of the website STEMINIST. We caught up with Ann to discuss women's involvement in STEM and the hope to empower more young women to pursue careers in math, science and technology. In a nutshell, who is Ann Hoang? What is your personal story leading up to the inception of STEMINIST? I'm a first generation immigrant and liberal arts major turned techie. I was born in Saigon, Vietnam but my family fled in 1975 just before the end of the war. We landed in a refugee camp and eventually settled in Washington state, where I grew up and attended college. I graduated with a degree in English, but did a 180 my senior year and decided to continue my studies in computer science instead of applying to creative writing grad programs. Since then I've had a long career in software development for organizations ranging from an e-commerce cosmetics company to my present job for the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon. Can you talk a little bit about the aim of STEMINIST? How did the name originate? STEMinist is all about voice and visibility to promote women in STEM fields. Because we're underrepresented in these fields, we're often marginalized or left out of the conversation completely. We highlight news stories about women in STEM so they aren't lost in the shuffle and our profiles showcase not just the existence of women in STEM, but their diversity and rich contributions to their respective fields. In 2010 I discovered an incredibly active community on Twitter of women across STEM fields. I couldn't believe there were so many women out there "like me," so I launched a site featuring a real time feed of tweets from women I followed. I initially chose the name STEM Feminists and later shortened it to STEMinist. When did you personally really start to recognize the absence of women in science, math and technology? What initial thoughts ran through your head? It was this gender disparity that actually inspired me to change career direction. During my senior year of college I read an editorial in Glamour magazine by Margaret Wertheim titled "Women, wake up about computers!"; it was 1997, and the internet was just about to boom. Wertheim implored women to step up because tech was going to influence and shape a significant portion of society and how we live, and it would be a tremendous loss if women were not more involved. With the idealism and chutzpah only a 21-year-old could muster I decided to immediately register for Computer Science 101 and taught myself how to build a website. I've always identified as a feminist, but the intersection of social justice and tech really inspired me to take action. In what ways does STEMINIST help educate and empower women to get involved in these fields? One of the ways STEMinist strives to empower women is by recognizing that yes, there is a lack of women in STEM, but the women who are in these fields are talented, accomplished and doing amazing things! Role models are critical to encouraging girls and women to enter these types of careers. If they can literally see people who look like them and share similar backgrounds - not just as women but also women of color, women with disabilities - then the hope is a STEM career becomes a real option, a possibility for their future. How do you select the array of women you profile? Do you know them personally and what about their stories do you find compelling? Some are friends whom I "encourage" to complete profiles but the vast majority are either nominated by our followers or selected from our social media accounts. What strikes me about the stories are the different routes and paths these women took on their way to careers in STEM; there are no magic formulas, no preset scripts. Some had parents who nurtured their interests at a young age, some pursued other careers first. Some spend their days doing obscure but important research in a lab and others apply their Ph.D's by advocating in schools for STEM education. It debunks many stereotypes about techies, scientists and engineers. We talk a lot about stories and community here on The Style Line, so tell us: How do you think science, math and technology tell stories? There's a human element woven throughout science, math and tech. It's more than simply formulas, numbers or lines of code. STEM helps us humans understand the world and one another better by explaining (or attempting to) the unknown. It is the language through which we find order and meaning. How would you describe the STEMINIST community? We put the feminist in STEM and the STEM in feminist. I respect that some people do not like to label themselves as feminists, but I've found most of our followers embrace it. Because of our (currently) atypical careers, you find a greater sense of activism among women in STEM than perhaps other fields. I constantly get asked about ways people can contribute and get involved, and there's a genuine spirit of collaboration. We know how important it is to encourage women to choose STEM as well as keep women in STEM careers and each of us has the power and impetus to affect change. How does STEMINIST tell stories? We give women a platform to share their individual story and voice, but we also wish to amplify a collective voice. What are women in STEM talking about right now? What are they researching? What has them riled up and what has them puzzled? Check out their Twitter feeds, read their blogs, and you'll get a pretty good idea. It's important what they're saying and the world is listening. What do you want people in general to take away from STEMINIST? I want people to feel empowered and see possibilities for themselves, whether they've been working in STEM for 25 years or finishing middle school and considering engineering for the first time. There are other women just like them in STEM. They are not alone. I also want people to know the reasons behind the gender gap are complex and numerous, and as such changing the landscape requires a multitude of different approaches and initiatives. There's no one magic solution. Lastly, I want men and boys to see they can be strong allies and play just as vital a role as women in transforming the gender ratio in STEM. In fact, change isn't going to happen without them. What would you say to someone who felt intimidated or anxious entering these fields? Science, tech, engineering and math are all skills that can be learned by anyone, any time, over time. It's not about innate ability or whether you were born "good at math" or not. You don't have to have been coding since birth to be a software engineer. You already possess the ability, it's just a matter of whether you wish to study it. Read up on Imposter Syndrome, recognize it, realize that everyone - regardless of their gender - experiences it, and don't let anyone or anything stand in the way of your goals. We need you and what you can bring to STEM. We've seen the amazing discoveries and accomplishments that have come out of the STEM world while women have constituted a minority. Now imagine what will come about when there's 40-50% more women participating. I'm pretty excited to find out.