The focus of this talk is “women of color in STEM”. Together we will explore the disparity that exists for women, in particular women of color. We will take a fundamental glance at the undeniable narrative of the “double bind” and reflection on the: “why it matters ” and the “what now” response. I’ll open the pages of my life and share with you how I became interested in engineering. Moreover, I’ll share insights on overcoming challenges and my personal approach to seeking and leveraging support systems along the way.

1. Double Bind:
Women of Color in STEM
Mentorship
of
the
STEM
Double
Minority
Symposium
University
of
North
Carolina
at
Chapel
Hill
February
17,
2017
Dr.
Ruthie
D.
Lyle
Lead
Research
Engineer
Contact:
rlylecannon@gmail.com

2. Disclaimer
The
content
of
this
presentation
is
provided
for
informational
purposes
only.
No
representations
as
to
accuracy,
completeness,
timeliness,
suitability
or
validity
are
implied
and
the
author
will
not
be
liable
for
any
errors,
omissions,
or
damages
arising
from
its
display
or
use.
Written
and
verbal
information
is
provided
on
an
as-­‐is
basis.
Neither
written
or
verbally
expressed
opinions,
findings
or
comments
reflect
those
of
the
presenter’s
employer
or
any
other
entity.
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem
3

3. “Double
Bind”
4
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

4. Overview
The
focus
of
today’s
talk
is
“women
of
color
in
STEM”.
Together
we
will
explore
the
disparity
that
exists
for
women,
in
particular
women
of
color.
We
will
take
a
fundamental
glance
at
the
undeniable
narrative
of
the
“double
bind”
and
reflection
on
the:
“why
it
matters
”
and
the
“what
now”
response.
I’ll
open
the
pages
of
my
life
and
share
with
you
how
I
became
interested
in
engineering.
Moreover,
I’ll
share
insights
on
overcoming
challenges
and
my
personal
approach
to
seeking
and
leveraging
support
systems
along
the
way.
5
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

5. Complimentary
Feminine Traits
an
Advantage!
6
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

6. Potential
Challenges
Unique
Challenges
Women
Face
Cultural
Norms
Work
Life
Balance
Satisfying
Work
Mentors
and
Sponsors
Lack
of
Role
Models
Family/Bio
Clock
7
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

7. Primary
Reference
Women,
Minorities,
and
Persons
with
Disabilities
in
Science
and
Engineering:
2015
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem
8

8. Double Bind?
….
an
undeniable
narrative
…
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

9. Low
participation
women:
Engineering
1995,
2004,
2014
Although
the
number
of
women
earning
degrees
in
engineering
has
increased
in
the
past
20
years,
women's
participation
remains
well
below
that
of
men
at
all
degree.
Since
1995,
the
proportion
of
women
earning
degrees
in
engineering
has
increased
at
all
levels,
mostly
at
the
master's
and
doctoral
levels.
In
general,
women
earn
larger
proportions
of
degrees
in
chemical,
materials,
industrial,
and
civil
engineering
than
in
aerospace,
electrical,
and
mechanical
engineering.
10
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

10. Science
and
engineering
bachelor's
degrees
earned
by
black
or
African
American
women,
by
field:
1995–2014
Black
or
African
American
women,
similar
to
Hispanic
women,
earn
a
higher
share
of
bachelor's
degrees
in
psychology
and
social
sciences
than
in
any
other
broad
S&E
field.
Their
share
of
bachelor's
degrees
has
declined
in
computer
sciences,
mathematics
and
statistics,
and
engineering.
11
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

11. Employed
black
scientist
and
engineers,
as
percentage
of
selected
occupations:
2015
Blacks
are
underrepresented
in
S&E
occupations.
That
is,
a
smaller
proportion
of
blacks
are
in
S&E
occupations
than
are
in
the
U.S.
workforce
as
a
whole
(5%
versus
12%).
Among
S&E
occupations,
blacks
constitute
a
large
share
of
social
scientists
and
computer
system
analysts.
Among
non-­‐S&E
occupations,
blacks
account
for
a
relatively
large
share
of
social
workers;
personnel,
training,
and
labor
relations
specialists;
and
counselors.
12
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

12. Scientists
and
engineers
working
in
S&E:
2015
White
men
constitute
about
one-­‐half
of
scientists
and
engineers
employed
in
S&E
occupations.
In
all
racial
and
ethnic
groups,
more
men
than
women
work
in
S&E
occupations.
Together,
Asian
and
underrepresented
minority
women
comprise
about
1
in
10
persons
employed
in
S&E
occupations.
13
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

13. Reasons
for
not
working
among
scientist
and
engineers:
2015
Within
each
racial
and
ethnic
group
of
scientists
and
engineers,
women
are
far
more
likely
than
men
to
cite
family
responsibilities
as
a
reason
for
not
working
and
less
likely
than
men
to
cite
retirement
as
a
reason.
Among
both
URM
and
engineers,
men
are
more
likely
than
women
to
cite
having
been
laid
off
as
a
reason
for
not
working.
14
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

14. Digging
Deeper
Disparity
exists
for
women,
in
particular
women
of
color
in
STEM
in
all
phases
of
the
stem
experience
Needed
mentors
and
support
systems
to
clear
a
path
!
K-­‐12
Undergrad
Grad
School
Entering
Workforce
Growing
Career
Exiting
the
Field
15
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

15. So
why
aren’t
more
black
people
roaming
the
campuses
of
technology
companies?
• They
see
very
few
people
who
look
like
them.
Often
the
only
person
of
color
in
meetings,
both
internal
and
external.
Depending
on
geographical
location,
fewer
opportunities
for
cultural
and
social
interactions
“I
empathize
with
managers
who
don’t
consider
racial
disparity
to
be
an
issue
worth
resolving.
Those
who
do
not
experience
its
effects
firsthand
will
find
it
difficult
to
give
it
credence.
But
to
put
oneself
in
the
mindset
of
a
minority
employee
isn’t
much
of
a
stretch.
Imagine
for
a
moment
being
the
only
man
at
a
bachelorette
party
or
the
only
woman
at
a
packed
nightclub.
There
is
nothing
intrinsically
wrong
with
either,
but
it
is
an
unnerving
feeling.
After
a
while,
you
may
withdraw
into
yourself
or
speak
less.
You
need
backup.
You
need
people
who
look
like
you.”
• Employees
of
color
are
statistically
paid
less
by
a
considerable
margin,
according
to
the
American
Institute
for
Economic
Research
• The
next
generation
of
engineering
dynamos
of
color
currently
have
comparatively
few
references
to
look
up
to.
“
A
growing
movement
to
educate
children
of
color
in
the
sciences
and
technology
aims
to
alter
this
trajectory.”
16
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

16. How
diverse
are
Silicon
Valley's
offices
and
executive
suites?
17
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem
2011
Data

17. State
of
Silicon
on
Diversity
2014
18
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

18. Excerpt
from
CNN
Black
In
America:
Silicon
Valley
19
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

19. Why it matters?
Science
knows
no
country,
because
knowledge
belongs
to
humanity,
and
is
the
torch
which
illuminates
the
world.
Louis
Pasteur
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

20. Audience
Participation
21
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

22. Science’s
Impact
on
Society:
Food
23
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

23. Some
experts
now
fear
a
two-­‐tier
urban
realm
in
which
those
on
the
lowest
incomes
become
disconnected
from
mainstream
commercial
life
by
their
dependence
on
traditional
forms
of
currency.
“The
beauty
of
cash
is
that
it’s
a
direct
and
simple
transaction
between
all
kinds
of
different
people,
no
matter
how
rich
or
poor,”
explains
financial
writer
Dominic
Frisby.
“If
you
begin
to
insist
on
cashlessness,
it
does
put
pressure
on
you
to
be
banked
and
signed
up
to
financial
system,
and
many
of
the
poorest
are
likely
to
remain
outside
of
that
system.
So
there
is
this
real
danger
of
exclusion.”
Science’s
Impact
on
Society:
$$$
24
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

24. What Now?
For
the
love
of
great
science,
the
respect
for
diversity
of
perspective,
and
moral
and
ethical
responsibilities
common
to
humanity
,
we
will
tackle
our
role
in
helping
to
change
current
trends.
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

25. We
Should
…
Know
the
Facts
Learn
from
History
Admit
to
the
disparity
Work
together
to
Change
Create
a
Conducive
Environment
Reach
back
and
pull
up!
26
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

26. An
Excerpt
of
My
Narrative
27
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

27. My
Journey
Roosevelt
High
School
Pre-­‐Engineering
Program
Northeastern
University
Undergraduate
School
NYU
Tandon
School
of
Engineering
Graduate
School
1st
AA
Female
PhD
in
EE
NYU
14
yr
Career
@IBM
Most
#
Patents
of
any
black
woman
in
the
world
!
Innovation
Thought
Leader
USAA
Lead
Research
Engineer
28
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

28. My
Contribution
Towards
Change
• Telling
my
story
–
Staying
in
Technical
Career-­‐path
• Speaking
on
STEM
Issues
• Connecting
with
Academia
• Mentoring
Inside
-­‐outside
my
workplace
(Connected
Women
of
NC)
• Influence/Expose
Young
People
(Teaching
Scratch
to
my
son)
29
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

29. Conclusion
For
the
love
of
great
science,
the
respect
for
diversity
of
perspective,
and
moral
and
ethical
responsibilities
common
to
humanity
,
we
must
own
our
role
in
helping
to
change
current
trends.
This
is
not
a
woman’s
issue
or
a
minority
women’s
issue
in
isolation,
nor
will
it
command
a
solution
exclusively
presented
by
said
groups
alone.
30
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

30. Suggested
Reading
31
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem

31. Suggested
Reading
32
Ruthie
Lyle,
PhD
-­‐-­‐
Double
Bind:
Women
of
Color
in
Stem