BEING A WOMAN IN STEM
From a young age, women are fed these ideas that they should take on careers that align with their “nurturing and motherly side” like: nurse, pediatrician, teacher, etc. So they grow up thinking they don’t have the ability to pursue any other career.
I grew up thinking I wanted to be a doctor. But -fortunately- I realized earlier that it wasn’t the case. I wanted to be an innovator, a creator. I had the passion and drive for it as well as the skills.
But being a woman in STEM, you constantly have your skills questioned by others that you start to question them yourself. You have to work twice as hard just to overcome prejudices and earn respect from your peers.
However, I don’t mind a challenge. Often being the only woman in meetings has never been a problem to me, and it shouldn’t be for any other woman. It should motivate us to keep pushing the boundaries and rethink the status quo in which women are a minority or part of “diversity and inclusion”.
Luckily, so many amazing women have fought for our rights to be heard and taken seriously. There are so many inspiring women -especially Moroccan women- in STEM that continuously reassure me to keep going. And things are slowly changing for the better.
Recently, Morocco recorded one of the highest rates in the world of women graduates in Engineering, representing 42.2% of total graduates. That’s exciting news. However, the fight for equality isn’t over.
Being a woman in STEM has been a blessing to me. Everyday is a chance to prove everyone -who said I couldn’t- wrong, and to inspire young girls to pursue whatever career they want.
