Dr. Jeanne Christman: Women in STEM
Dr. Jeanne Christman grew up in a small town outside of Buffalo, NY. Wanting to stay relatively close to home and still receive a great education, she attended Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY, and received a bachelor's degree in computer and electrical engineering.
After she had an internship with Texas Instruments under her belt, they offered Dr. Christman a job, and she moved across the country to Dallas. In fact, Texas Instruments paid for Dr. Christman to get her masters degree in computer science. After a few years in Dallas, Dr. Christman decided to move back to Rochester, NY and work at Harris Corporation as an engineer. Once she started her family, Dr. Christman took time off work to spend time with her children. Years later, the Rochester Institute of Technology offered her a job as an adjunct professor and the university eventually paid for her to get her PHD in STEM education in order for her to become eligible for tenure. Dr. Christman currently teaches computer engineering technology at RIT.
As an engineer, Dr. Christman spent a lot of time in front of the computer working long hours until the job was done. Dr. Christman loved her time as an engineer, noting that she got to travel and she had great coworkers. As a professor, Dr. Christman is now able to have more flexible hours. She enjoys working on a college campus because there’s always something going on.
“The energy on campus is great. The students are great most of the time.”
Although Dr. Christman enjoyed her time at school, she says that working towards her PHD was a challenge. Acquiring a PHD required a lot of writing, including a 300 page dissertation. There were times while she was working towards her PHD that she wanted to quit but, she knew she couldn’t. She had kids in college and high school and wanted to set a good example for them; quitting wasn’t an option. Although getting her final degree was a struggle, Dr. Christman says the payoff has been huge, and she knows that she can now get a teaching job in her field at any university.
Although there are still far more men in the engineering industry than women, Dr. Christman believes that women actually have an advantage over men in terms of the fact that men in STEM are usually more introverted, and women are typically more people-oriented, allowing them to work as liaisons between engineers and customers. However, being a woman in STEM still comes with its challenges. Dr. Christman says she’s underestimated all the time just because of her gender. When she was in her twenties, she was constantly mistaken for the administrative assistant, or someone in human resources. If she made a mistake, her colleagues would think that she was incompetent, but if a male engineer made a mistake, it was no big deal.
“It was really hard to get people to take me seriously and I always had to work twice as hard, or try to prove myself, work extra hours, and really make sure I didn’t make mistakes because if I ever made a mistake, but then a young male engineer ever made the same mistake, it was okay if he did, but if I did it then they would think I was incompetent or I’d get comments about it.”
Furthermore, when asked if anyone has ever “mansplained” something to her, Dr. Christman said:
“I read that question today and I laughed because that’s like asking a woman in STEM if she’s ever breathed.”
Dr. Christman has also seen and experienced gender bias in how women choose to dress. According to Dr. Christman, people judge women based on what they wear all the time, in any field, but especially male dominated ones such as engineering. Male colleagues have occasionally asked Dr. Christman to speak to women that they felt were dressing inappropriately, when Dr. Christman argued that women have a right to express themselves through their clothing.
A few years ago, Dr. Christman was a little more hesitant to stick for herself when the men in her department would not take her seriously, but now, she is more confident and sure of herself than ever. When her male colleagues do not give her a chance to speak, she talks over them. When her male colleagues question her research, she simply hands them her business card. When critics say she only got to where she is because she is simply filling a quota for women in STEM, she replies “I worked hard, and I deserve this.” Although Dr. Christman is proud of herself for eventually having the courage to empower herself and other women, her one regret is that she did not find her voice sooner.
“I waited way too long to find my voice and you should all feel empowered to do this at a younger age.”
Despite the gender stereotypes that Dr. Christman faces far too often, she feels extremely hopeful for the future of girls in STEM. With more and more female STEM teachers like Dr. Christman in the workforce, more young girls and teenagers will feel empowered to go into the field as well.
“Feel empowered. You’re here, you’re gonna do great things. Know you’re empowered, don’t let anyone squash that.”
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