This week was dedicated to more research on Cher Wang and her culture.
I’m really quite excited about this project because of the implications it has both for me and other female engineers/scientists. There aren’t many female role models in the STEM fields for young girls to look up to and wish to emulate. Part of the reason is the lack of girls taking up these fields, but I believe another part of it is that females who are in these fields are relatively unknown. I hope that by writing about Cher Wang, I bring another role model to the front of readers’ minds. There ARE women out there; you simply have to look for them.
With that aside, I contacted an OSU librarian this week to receive help on my project. I contacted Natalia Fernandez, the multicultural librarian, because I wanted more perspective on what it would be like to be a female technologist in Taiwan. Many studies conducted on why there are so few women in these fields focus on the United States and the Western world in general. I was eager to gain insight into what it would be like in the East. Natalia happily obliged by sending me two articles and a link pertinent to my topic as well as tips on what databases to use in the future and the kinds of key words I should be using.
The first article is titled “Women Scientists in Tawain”; while I haven’t had the opportunity to read the article all the way through, a quick skim revealed this is exactly what I was looking for. The article essentially compiles data from several studies about women technologists in Taiwan, including a compilation of statistics and responses quoted from interviews. It really gives me a glimpse into the Taiwanese perspective of women in STEM fields, and it will prove invaluable in writing about the cultural perspective.
The next article, titled “Why Aren’t women Sticking with Science in Taiwan?” is also extremely pertinent to the cultural aspect of my project. This paper explores the factors that cause women to leave the science fields and why men dominate the top positions in this area. The paper’s abstract mentions the pervasive masculine culture that Taiwan has, so I’m very excited about what I can gain from reading it.
Finally, Natalia sent me a link about gender bias in the IT industry. This paper is more general, but it helps illustrate what women have had to do to get around persistent gender bias in their fields. I’m hoping to gain a general perspective from this paper and use it to begin my cultural analysis for my project.
Overall, I was extremely pleased with my interactions with Natalia. She gave me some great advice and provided three resources that will prove invaluable. Even as a sophomore, I never realized what great resources were available to students conducting research at Oregon State. I admit I’m somewhat ashamed I haven’t taken advantage of these sooner. From now on, I will make a point of it.
