Hi again, everyone! This week, we're talking about Empowerment. Empowerment can be defined as "the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights." I know that we have talked about confidence in the past, but this week, we want to talk specifically about women's empowerment and how important it is.
While it is great that you have the confidence and drive to accomplish something, it's important that you pass on that confidence in other women as well. Women of Color that pursue degrees in STEM and have a career in STEM are often times the only women and/or a women of color that looks like them in the room. It can be very isolating and can make you feel self-conscious causing you to doubt yourself. Even though I have a great manager who is consistently helping me, advocating for me, and pushing me in the right direction and tons of guy friends who are always there as a great support network, nothing beats having a strong group of women behind me who are always there to encourage and motivate me even if they aren't near to me location-wise. Coming home after a stressful day or week and being able to pick up the phone and call or FaceTime my mom, sister, or friends immediately recharges me and gives me the boost I need to keep going and not give up.
It's no secret how powerful being a women of color in STEM is. You offer a different perspective that cannot be matched by any of your colleagues. Now, imagine if you had a force of two or three people beside you, ahead of you, or even behind you backing you up, advocating for you, and showing you that anything is possible. We would be unstoppable!
Women's empowerment is something me as well as the rest of the MacScientist Team are really passionate about. We created this platform as a method of empowering our readers that even though getting a degree in STEM is hard, it can be done and you can change the world. We hope to give you that weekly encouragement to keep pressing forward no matter how difficult it is and in turn you give that back to others in your daily life.
Empowerment is a force that can't be shaken. The more women that are empowered, the stronger our presence will become and the everyone will recognize how magical we are. - The Engineer
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