Project helps female STEM students overcome gender discrimination in workforce
Before she was Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UB, Liesl Folks dealt with gender discrimination in the workplace.
In a sit-down interview with The Spectrum, Folks recalled specifically avoiding a male colleague at work. He’d often walk up behind her and start massaging her shoulders when she had to perform electron microscopes in dark, soundproof rooms.
“I would just run away. Every time,” Folks said. “I never dealt with it, never told anyone except my colleagues. I told them he creeped me out but no one did anything about it. I should have, but I didn’t.”
Now Folks is leading a research team looking to help female students entering the workforce deal with gender discrimination. Folks said she feels women in STEM fields are still not always equipped with the skills to navigate past obstacles that could derail their careers.
Before she was Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UB, Liesl Folks dealt with gender discrimination in the workplace. In a sit-down interview with The Spectrum, Folks recalled specifically avoiding a male colleague at work. He’d often walk up behind her and start massaging her shoulders when she had to perform electron microscopes in dark, soundproof rooms. “I would just run away. Every time,” Folks said. “I never dealt with it, never told anyone except my colleagues. I told them he creeped me out but no one did anything about it. I should have, but I didn’t.” Now Folks is leading a research team looking to help female students entering the workforce deal with gender discrimination. Folks said she feels women in STEM fields are still not always equipped with the skills to navigate past obstacles that could derail their careers.