From the Arab Women in STEM (@ArabStemWomen), Letters to a Pre-Scientist

Connecting the hearts and minds of Arab women in STEM with young people through handwritten letters.

Over the past year, the Arab world witnessed the Arab Women in STEM (AWIS) grow and flourish into the robust, inclusive platform it has aimed to be since its foundation in 2019. The platform aims to pave the way for young scientists to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) paths, and shares stories of Arab women in STEM fields to encourage, empower, and inspire. Their most recent initiative, a partnership with a US-based program called Letters to a Pre-Scientist (LPS), continues to encourage curiosity in STEM fields by putting Arab women in well-deserved positions as mentors. It allows younger people to experience the magic of unfolding handwritten letters filled with advice on education, overcoming obstacles, and pursuing STEM career paths.

The program initiates handwritten correspondence, originally via snail-mail, during the academic year between student “pre-scientists” and professionals working in STEM fields. By partnering young people (5th-10th graders) with STEM professionals, LPS helps spark curiosity, humanizes people in STEM, and demystifies STEM jobs.

LPS regularly conducts a measure of student stereotypes called the “Draw-a-Scientist Test,” which has found interesting yet disheartening results. According to this test, 79% of US students, when asked to draw scientists, draw white males. At the age of 6, 70% of the girls draw female scientists, but 10 years later, the same percentage draw male scientists.

Since LPS aims to pair students with STEM professionals who do not fit their stereotype of a scientist, the role of Arab women becomes crucial. LPS is currently limited to students within the US, but enabling Arab women in STEM to correspond with US-based students will help alleviate prejudice against Arab women and shine a spotlight on their contributions. The active inclusion of Arab women will also provide non-white representation to immigrant students or those from minority groups who seek mentorship from figures of the same background or who have had a similar upbringing. Since LPS is already inclusive to people with determination and English language learners, the AWIS-LPS partnership will allow Arab women in STEM to have the chance to help children from these categories who need support from Arabic-speakers.

When asked what made LPS appealing, the founders of AWIS responded, “We believe that handwritten letters feel much more heartfelt and personal. Individuals participating in this program can get a closer mentorship experience with aspiring young students who want to become scientists…”

It is undoubtedly more likely for pen-pals to sense the humanity of each other through handwritten letters, personalized as they are. Everything from handwriting to choice of paper and colors brings the previously unapproachable text-book image of a scientist to a dependable mentor that students can be inspired to emulate. Feedback from students who had the opportunity to correspond with STEM professionals shows that the 8 letters sent back and forth during the academic year helped change the stereotype of the rarity of women scientists to “…anyone can become a scientist if you put your heart into it.” It also changed the thought that scientists are “unattainably smart people” to “normal people just like me.”

In order to allow both Arab women in STEM and pre-scientists to build meaningful relationships, pen-pals are paired based on the students’ interests and the STEM professionals’ experience. The LPS program broadly defines STEM professionals. People from all over the world are encouraged to join, and registration for the academic year 2020-2021 is now open. For the AWIS-LPS partnership, one additional criterion has been added: being an Arab woman. While in light of current events, the correspondence may not be carried out via snail-mail, participants will still handwrite and send e-copies of their letters to one another. AWIS will use their social media platforms to share news and stories about the progress of this initiative, as well as highlight the experiences of Arab women who become a part of it.

The Arab world is playing active roles in different STEM fields. The UAE’s recent launch of the Hope Probe and earlier, astronaut Hazza Almansoori’s mission, had people anticipate and follow the news with happiness and pride. These government-led initiatives definitely inspire the younger generation to pursue STEM career paths. Young people who are passionate about the various fields of STEM are undeniably valuable assets for the future, and their passion should be encouraged and allowed to grow. For that, we hope that the AWIS-LPS partnership is the first step towards the implementation of similar uplifting programs in the country and the region.