Article Title: Women in science are made to feel like impostors

Article Summary

In this article, the author talks about impostor syndrome, a psychological pattern where one believes, in spite of evidence to the contrary, that one is a fraud, that one’s successes are sheer flukes. She has explained the concept through her personal experience. When she was in college a classmate of hers said that girls might get better grades, but they just don’t get the fundamentals of maths and science. This had a great impact on her and she wondered how a man could so easily extrapolate one woman’s wrong answer to a weakness of the whole gender, and why, just as easily, a woman could believe that she was the specific subject of every loose judgement on women.

The article mentions facts about women in the field of science, the All India Survey on Higher Education 2017-18 estimates that 40% of the undergraduates in science and engineering are women, but women make up only 14% of scientists, engineers and technologists employed in research and development institutions. The article ends on a sarcastic note by listing down the actual problems faced by women, instead of self doubt, like sexism and discriminatory practices, an uneven distribution of childcare and chores at home, weaker peer networks, fewer female mentors and far fewer women in decision-making positions

Article Link: Click here to read the full article

Words to learn from this Article:

Impostor: a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others, especially for fraudulent gain.

Banter: the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.

Aberration: a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one.

Extrapolate: extend the application of (a method or conclusion) to an unknown situation by assuming that existing trends will continue or similar methods will be applicable. Grapple: engage in a close fight or struggle without weapons; wrestle.

Protagonist: the leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel, etc.