When Texas high school student Ahmed Mohamed brought a homemade clock to school and, instead of being celebrated for his ingenuity and creativity, was arrested, it served as yet another reminder of how people of color are unwelcome in science, technology, engineering and math (Stem) fields.  Related: Ahmed Mohamed is just one example of the bigotry American Muslims face | Linda Sarsour  He’s far from alone. No less than Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the planetarium at the Museum of Natural History and a science-world luminary, has spoken about why black men like him are rare in Stem fields.  “I saw how the world around me reacted to my expression of my ambitions,” he said last year, speaking of his journey to becoming one of the nations most recognized scientists. Tyson said that he felt he was discouraged at every step of the way because he was black man entering white male domain. Teachers actually suggested he play sports instead. It’s no wonder diversity in Stem fields has stagnated in the past 14 years – minorities aside from Asian Americans make up about 10% of the Stem workforce, and 26% of the population.  These bleak statistics and anecdotal discouragement don’t surprise me. I was a Stem student (although we didn’t call it that at the time), and I am IT professional. I’ve dealt with many people along the way who actively discouraged and delegitimized my work because I didn’t fit their perceptions of what an engineer looks like, from the innocuous comment from a white male student who said to me incredulously, “You got 100%?” upon learning that I aced our college freshman chemistry test to a co-worker who tried to sabotage my career by meeting with our boss specifically to tell him I didn’t know what I was doing. Interestingly enough we had a white male colleague at the time with the same skill-set and experience, and the same co-worker praised that man as a genius while he complained to our boss that I was incompetent.  There was also the time when I was the project leader and a team member refused to speak to me when his tasks were completed but chose instead to relay information to another male team member. Then there was the time I was accused of lying in a job interview because the interviewer didn’t think my appearance meshed with my resume: how did someone with math background become a programmer? (It happens all the time.) How did I obtain a senior position at my first job? ( It was pretty standard in the dot-com era, and I actually got the position after a younger, less educated, white male colleague resigned.)  I could go on, but I feel it is important to recognize that I have had some positive experiences in my career. There are many in the Stem fields who don’t subscribe to the point of view that they are entitled to be smarter or in better position by birthright. I have great working relationships with more than a few white male colleagues who respect my ideas, appreciate my work and have no problem with being equal partners or even with my leadership.  And even some of the my negative experiences worked out well. In the case of the kid who couldn’t believe I could score 100%, we ended fine. I was a cocky 18-year-old, and I quipped: “What, I don’t look like I could score 100?” It shut him up, and by the end of class we had mutual competitive respect. As for the co-worker who tried to sabotage me, let’s just say over time my coding spoke for itself, and his did for him. His role was diminished at our company. The colleague who refused to talk to me adjusted his behavior after I explained, twice, the problems I had with it. We had no issues after that.  Even Ahmed Mohamed’s awful story includes some good news. He’s gotten international support on social media and invitations to Facebook HQ and the White House.  But it’s a shame that our successes come through rising above discriminatory treatment rather than through a recognition of our talent. I’m tired of being an example of overcoming racism and sexism. #IstandwithAhmed, and I’m calling out racists who penalize a young man for his inventiveness, men who think a black woman in tech is incongruous, and those who would buy Tyson the athlete before Tyson the scientist.  It’s time to recognize the potential and talent being wasted when women and people of color are discouraged from Stem fields. Though more organizations are actively involved getting women and minorities into scientific and engineering fields, changing antiquated attitudes of who is intellectually capable will do more to encourage participation than any program will.
My schooling and IT career have contained serial examples of being underestimated or mistreated for my race and gender