Meet AWIS, An Initiative That Will Challenge Your Perceptions of Arab Women in STEM
“Through our platform, we hope to combat any existing stereotypes of Arab women by showing what they’re capable of, not just as Arabs, but as women too.”
Logo courtesy of AWIS
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “scientist”? What kind of individuals do you typically associate with the world of STEM? Who are the scientists you can name off the top of your head? Did you think of MENA women at all in considering any of these questions?
Our perceptions of certain professions, career fields, and people are tainted and influenced by the sights presented to us and the stories we hear. For a lot of us women in MENA, it can often be difficult trying to navigate future career paths or possibilities in general. The scope of what can be has often been narrow and difficult.
Arab Women in STEM (AWIS) have made it their goal to deconstruct all of this, to widen the scope of what Arab women in their visions for the future. Unootha has been very lucky to be able to sit down with the founders of AWIS to learn more about their origins, their goals, and their current projects.
Please tell us about Arab Women in STEM (AWIS)! What is your initiative all about?
AWIS is a platform that aims to highlight Arab women’s achievements in STEM by providing media coverage in different stages of their careers (i.e. whether they’re postgraduate students, professors/teachers, STEM professionals, or even undergraduates). The goal is to create a sense of community for Arab women in STEM to connect with one and other and inspire younger Arab girls who want to pursue STEM. Through our platform, we hope to combat any existing stereotypes of Arab women by showing what they’re capable of, not just as Arabs, but as women too.
What specific steps have you taken this past year in order to fulfill your mission?
We communicate closely with our AWIS participants through our social media platforms and make sure their achievements are being highlighted, especially on days like International Women’s Day, etc. We are going to have Arab women in STEM speak about their achievements and their struggles as a part of a diversity panel during the upcoming Women in Space conference in Canada, which was supposed to be held in May but has been postponed to next year due to the current coronavirus outbreak. We have also partnered with LPS (Letters to a Pre-scientist) to make sure that students in America see Arab women represented in STEM. Through this program, students (including those who come from minority groups) can connect with people other than white-male scientists — this helps combat stereotypes and makes science more accessible to everyone.
Image courtesy of AWIS
Image courtesy of AWIS
What does Arab Women in STEM mean to you personally? How do your personal and professional values as the founders intersect with those of AWIS?
Arab women in STEM was founded by two Astrophysics Ph.D. students, Ahlam Al Qasim and Aisha Al Mannaei. We think that the existence of this kind of community is important for any aspiring female Arab scientist. This platform is something we would have liked to see as young aspiring science students who faced struggles while pursuing their fields. Oftentimes, we have doubts about the kind of careers we, as Arab women, want to have simply because we aren't exposed to role models who share the same or even similar cultural backgrounds — it feels less accessible to us. We want to change that for young Arab girls all over the world.
You’ve recently announced your partnership with the Letters to a Pre-Scientist initiative (LPS). Can you tell us more about what it is?
We recently released an article about how this came about… The program initiates handwritten correspondence, originally via snail-mail, during the academic year between students “pre-scientists” and people working in or studying STEM fields. By partnering young people (5th-10th graders) with STEM professionals, LPS helps spark curiosity, humanizes people in STEM, and demystifies STEM jobs.
Image courtesy of AWIS
Why was it important for you to form this partnership?
The more diverse the backgrounds of scientists in the program are, the more successful the program will be at breaking down the stereotype that STEM is predominantly made for white males. LPS' student body is also diverse, so we believe a diverse group of scientists will help foster stronger connections between the students and scientists. As part of the partnership, we also help translate important documents for any Arabic-speaking students who participate in the LPS program, and any documents needed for their families as well.
How can Arab women interested be a part of it?
The registration for this academic year has ended, but if we continue our partnership with them in the upcoming years, we will announce the registration on our social media platforms, so please follow us and stay tuned if you’d like to participate in any future events!
In our email correspondence, you mentioned that one of your goals is to work with LPS or another non-profit to expand the program to the Middle East, thus integrating it into our education sectors. Why does this matter and what are your plans to make it happen?
Every year, LPS receives many candidates who sign up and end up on the waitlist because the number of students being matched is much less in comparison. We hope to give chances to every STEM professional excited about connecting with a student pen-pal. To achieve this, we are currently trying to reach out to schools in the Middle East that might be interested in integrating this program into their classrooms. Expanding the program to schools outside the US would also diversify the student audience that gets to converse with real-life STEM professionals!
Do you anticipate facing any hardships or challenges with the LPS program? In contrast, what invigorates and excites you about it?
Image courtesy of AWIS
We haven’t faced any challenges with forming connections with the LPS program thus far, as both parties are excited to work together. Possible challenges after the program begins might be that some students are not passionate about learning science, and I believe that the biggest challenge would be convincing them that science is relatable and accessible to everyone. Hopefully, through this experience, they can find the topics exciting and relevant to individuals in society. We believe that the most exciting part of this program is to form connections with students who come from low-income backgrounds and different ethnic groups, and ensure that they receive the same sort of mentorship and guidance as privileged students.
What is the next step for you with AWIS? What are the ways in which you envision Arab Women in STEM growing and evolving?
We are hoping to create a database of Arab women in STEM and their achievements to make it more accessible to everyone and explore possibilities of how we might be able to extend its reach worldwide.
Try to extend the LPS program to schools in the Middle East.
Participate in the Women in Space conference as part of a diversity panel, which will include Arab women who work in space fields, to ensure that Arab women are highlighted and that they share their experiences.
If you’d like to stay up-to-date with AWIS’ endeavors, find them here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arabstemwomen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/arabstemwomen