Gender, Work, STEAM With Alice Fazlollah and Barbara Gainey

KENNESAW, Ga. (Nov 5, 2015) — This was an extremely interesting panel as it discussed many different fields and the ways that gender intersected within it. Dr. Barbara Gainey and Dr. Alice Fazlollah headed up the discussions for this panel. Dr. Gainey discussed crisis leadership communication and the need for crisis response to be looked at in terms of gender. She stated that an effective response team should reflect the demographic they are trying to help. Working collaboratively was essential. The university is working to give opportunities to teaching students and effective communication, training journalists to dig deeper for facts, and give racial consideration in every situation.

Dr. Fazlollah discussed how any person who identified as a female weren’t really pursuing higher job opportunities in STEM fields regardless of the push for women to get more involved. She asked the students to discuss why they thought this was and gave four points to really think about. There was a disconnect with a major influence in their lives, the environment the females came from, there were no innate differences between genders in how they learn or perform their jobs, and there was a lack of confidence in females that they could perform those kinds of jobs. These four points gave way for some really interesting discussion and personal stories that were shared on why certain students chose the degree track they are in. These two professors really gave great insight into the different opportunities that are open for anyone who identifies as female at KSU as well as some of the factors regarding the lack of their presence in those fields.

Student Review by Andrea Putala Focus Week 2015 Event: