Women studying in the science, technology, engineering and math fields have more difficulty balancing romance and schoolwork, according to a study done by researchers at the University at Buffalo.

Lora Park, the researcher who led the study, found that women who are concerned about finding romance should think twice about studying in the STEM fields. The study was published on the Inside Higher Education website on Aug. 16.

Women have grown tremendously in both the education and communications workforce but not the STEM fields, which prompted Park to look into the situation further, according to a news release from UB.

According to the Inside Higher Education article, Park explained that women’s romantic interests overpower their desire to succeed in the STEM fields. Also, when confronted by a romantic interest, women are less open about their field of study.

‘Pursuing intelligence goals in masculine fields, such as STEM, conflicts with pursuing romantic goals associated with traditional romantic scripts and gender norms,’ Park said in the study.

Since the number of women is generally lower at STEM institutions, women feel their desired profession automatically makes them less desirable because of gender roles.

This theory does not seem surprising to students at Syracuse University.

Fall 2010 enrollment in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science was 1,635 males versus 534 females, according to SU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment website. Fall 2011 enrollment is not yet available.

Ashley Cruz, a senior aerospace engineer turned philosophy major, said she felt the pressure of sticking to gender roles.

‘It was always competition with the boys, like I had to prove myself to them. When I eventually switched to philosophy, it was almost (as if) the men were like ‘told you so’ about it,’ Cruz said. ‘The professors try to keep everything equal, but there is a divide.’

When it comes to potential romances around campus, Cruz also said she felt she had to play down her major to become more desirable.

‘I would tell guys my major, and they would be kind of intimidated, I guess, by it because it is so hard and not many women are in it,’ she said.

Cruz agrees that it is harder to be a female in a notoriously male-dominated field of study.

Park, author of the study, said women are socialized, since youth, to be romantically desirable, which includes keeping in line with typical gender roles, according to the UB news release.

Typically, these gender roles do not include professions in math or science, but more in teaching or jobs in the communication fields.

For senior Arielle Faden, this rings true.

‘I half-dread when I tell people about my major — biology focused on pre-dental track — because they are usually half-weirded out because they never heard that coming from a girl’s mouth,’ said Faden. ‘Especially in the greek community, it’s not a popular major.’

The fact that Faden is a one of a small percentage of women in her field can make for semi-awkward conversations, she said.

‘They respond with a, ‘That’s so weird, that’s such a man’s job,’ and the conversation moves on,’ Faden said. ‘But there are aspects of dentistry that are completely male dominated, such as oral surgery. I’ve basically crossed that off my list of potential specialties because of that reason.’

But not all men think this is necessarily true.

‘Some of my best friends are girls in engineering, and each one of them is proud to talk about it,’ said Karl Goettsche, a senior engineering major.

This idea goes back to the opinion that smart is sexy.

Goettsche said: ‘These girls don’t care if the guy is judging them because they are proud of what they are accomplishing, and sometimes it makes them more appealing because of the intelligent conversations you can have with them.’

knvanbru@syr.edu

Published on September 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm