Lavinia Thomas, is a young female engineer in her first year of university. She’s also bi-racial and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a real modern woman who faces adversity, inequality and injustice on several fronts. She sat down with INECO’s CEO: Ama Antwi-Saki for an exclusive interview, discussing the inequalities she faces as a young woman studying a STEM subject at university.
A: “I I wanted to feature you in INECO because you’re a modern woman and an engineer -discussing gender inequality, and if as a woman you ever felt discouraged to participate in STEM subjects”
L: “There’s a lot for being a woman and an engineer. Because they [male students] think woman are weak and can’t do all the bigger things when it comes to engineering. And since it’s male dominated they just think woman aren’t capable. There’s a lot of discrimination”
A: “Is your class mostly male?”
L: “I’m the only girl in my class”
A: “Do you ever have imposter syndrome?”
L: “Even in college I was the only girl, [I] cant make many friends - cause I would at least like another girl there, just to feel reassured and not alone alone. I mean I’m calm [okay] with guys, But you know just to have another girl”
A: Do you feel the world is changing and becoming more accepting of girls in STEM subjects?
L: "Yeah it is becoming more accepting especially in this generation"
A: Would you have liked to have seen more women in STEM careers as a young girl?
L: "Yeah I would have liked to see more woman in STEM careers, but seeing as there's not many women in the field [it] kind of motives me"
A: From your perspective, what changes need to happen to make STEM more welcoming to females, and less discriminatory?
L: "There was a time I was trying to get into college to study engineering and I was told that it is a hard course for girls my age, so I feel people should forget about the gender and just base it on passion for a subject"
A: Finally, what is your advice to young girls hoping to pursue a career in STEM subjects?
L: "That young girls should go for it, and to not worry about what people say even if they think they aren’t capable because everyone is capable, and to not let male dominated subjects put them off"