On February 13th the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) team hosted their annual Dinner With Industry event at The Isabel Bader Center.
The theme was STRONGER TOGETHER, emphasizing the empowering experience of finding unity among women in STEM.
Dr. Erin Meger was one of the four speakers sharing their experiences of supporting other women in technology, including her non-profit project Women in Combinatorics (WinCom).
Co-founded by Dr. Meger in 2019, WinCom is a platform that provides community and support to underrepresented female and non-binary researchers worldwide.
We asked Dr. Meger some questions about the DWI event and her advice to young women in STEM.
The theme for DWI 2024 is ‘Stronger Together’. Why is community important for women in science and tech programs?
Community in STEM is a place where Women and Non-Binary Folks can find commonalities. They can realize that they are not alone. Most importantly, they have a network to lean on when facing gender-based inequities. Sharing our stories is the most vital way we can learn together what is appropriate and what crosses the lines. We all face such similar struggles when it comes to not being heard and not being valued – but so often we internalize these challenges, thinking that we ourselves are not enough. By sharing our stories, together we realize that we are so much bigger and stronger than these stories and narratives.
What is a piece of advice you can give to women studying computing?
In 2019, Prof. Fan Chung, one of the most prolific graph theorists of all time, said to me at an event just like this one: “Just don’t give up. Keep going.” Even when we feel like the burden is too much, that we don’t belong here – the truth of it is that all we need to do in order to truly belong is to just stay. We are stronger when we form community here. Even when we feel our accomplishments are not enough, that is just the patriarchy. All we need to do, is to keep going, together.
What was your experience at DWI?
I am thrilled and honored to be part of the WiSE Dinner with Industry. Fighting for equity within STEM has been a passion of mine for over a decade. Five years ago, I started the non-profit Women in Combinatorics, in order to hold events very similar to this one. The organization focuses on raising the voices of women. We held internationally recognized virtual colloquiums to boost the visibility and academic record of women all over the world, and partnered with the Mexican Math Society to highlight the outstanding research of women in Mexico. We also fund scholarships to help reduce the leaky-pipeline: the decrease we see in women the further along the research track you go. These scholarships provide an international award, as well as financial support to ensure strong women in STEM are able to access excellent graduate programs, and continue their careers as researchers world-wide.