"Not bad for a girl": How do female students of "male" faculties feel
Graduations to be held in Russia this week., after which former students will apply to universities. The USE system allows you to send documents simultaneously to five schools and try your hand at the most difficult areas of science. Traditionally, quite a few girls enter the technical faculties - there are many reasons, but stereotypes that women are less capable of mathematics, and the notorious ideas about “female logic” are still strong. It turns out a vicious circle: despite the good results of the exams, girls do not feel confident and choose compromise options for admission.
We talked with students of leading technical and mathematical faculties of the country and found out why it is not necessary to be an excellent student, whether it is possible to combine theater with higher mathematics and how teachers belong to few female students.
From my early youth I was very fond of mathematics and, in principle, was good at physics, so I knew that I would definitely go for a technical specialty. Besides, my sister entered the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and I decided that I also wanted to. She told me that in this university there was a very tough and hard training, and I immediately understood that this was my option. Our parents are also techies, but they never did science, so my sister inspired me more. We are from Kazakhstan, and at first they were afraid to let her go to another country, and I was already sent following inertia.
Before entering, I did not go to any courses or tutors — I just resolved all the options for preparing for the exam. I also won Mathematics and Physics Olympiads, so I passed the exam only in Russian. Then there was an interview where it was determined whether you would go to a profile math or regular group. It lasts 5-6 hours, and at this time it is necessary to solve problems - first, simpler, and then at the university level. As a result, they took me to a mathematical group, where there were 16 guys and only 2 girls, including me.
In the first year it was hard, because the hard matane starts right away. (mathematical analysis. - Ed.). But now, two years later, it seems to me that we panicked more and complained to the undergraduates than solved our problems. Before you go to MIPT, you need to understand that it will be very difficult, so that there are no unexpected stresses. It is difficult to do, but learning is much more difficult.
I try to find time for myself, but it turns out far from always. The main thing is to prioritize - let's say, to understand what subjects you like, and put maximum efforts to what is really important to you. In addition to studying, sport is important to me: I do aerobics in the MIPT section, I even participated in competitions. Training really helps me learn and gives me energy.
I like to study among boys. For example, in the first year of study I never opened the door myself - there was always a gentleman. The only girl who studies with me in the group is my good friend. In general, we are friends together, and the guys help us. I also got along well with the neighbors in the hostel thanks to the parties. In general, friends here are quite easy to find, because all students have approximately the same interests. According to my feelings, there are enough girls in MIPT, now it is not the XIX-XX century. Everyone wants to learn, and the girls are really good at everything. It just so happened that in my group there are only two girls, in the second mathematical they are five. I do not know why it happened.
Now I am studying at the undergraduate degree, and then I am going to enter the magistracy. I would like to go to science, that is, to a research laboratory, for example, at Yandex or the School of Data Analysis. In these places it is great to pay and you can simultaneously develop as a scientific expert.
At school I studied in the physical and mathematical class, so it was quite natural to enter a technical specialty. Another question is that there are really a lot of options. You can do theoretical physics, radio engineering or, for example, discrete mathematics and modern computer science. I always liked math. And seeing the film "Sensual Mathematics" in the tenth grade, I even thought about a career in science. In the eleventh grade, there were doubts, so I wanted to go to a higher educational institution that trains personnel for science and industry. MIPT attracted as one of the centers of the olympiad movement, the alma mater of Nobel laureates, and another friendly campus. I chose the most mathematical faculty and do not regret it at all.
It is good that the teachers agitated me to participate in school olympiads. Of course, success was far from always, but in the eleventh grade, the subject Olympiad gave me 100 points of the Unified State Exam. For different subjects, I was preparing different methods. In mathematics, she concentrated on training for olympiads: she watched video footage of MIPT olympiads, went to school courses to solve common olympiad problems and the most difficult part of the Unified State Exam. There were problems with physics (I am still a mathematician), so I went to the tutor and again watched the video. Surprisingly, the Russian language helped me to enter: at MIPT, many applicants already had 100 points in physics and mathematics, so the Russian language was really decisive. I acted only with the olympiad in mathematics and physics, with the results above the average, but not for the Physical and Technical Institute. I passed the Russian on 98 points out of 100, and it worked. To some extent it was hard. It was necessary to develop self-discipline and to disaccustom aimlessly to spend time, for example, to solve tests in the bus.
By submitting the documents, I relaxed a bit: the diploma of the Olympiad was in my hands, the results of the USE came. My points were enough to go to university, but it was more difficult with the faculty: at Fiztekh they conduct a whole interview for the distribution of applicants. I ambitiously chose one of the most prestigious faculties - FUPM. I had to worry. However, I took a chance: in addition to MIPT, I took the documents only to the Voronezh State University (I am from Voronezh) so that the parents would not worry.
My parents supported my choice, but were afraid to let go to Moscow. Even if Voronezh is not so far from Moscow, they still were scary. In addition, I was a pretty home child: I did not go to kindergarten, and I went to school for ten years instead of eleven because of an unusual program. Life in the hostel was also scary, because I really didn’t know how to cook, and so many new people around. But it turned out to be an excellent experience, I even miss the hostel at home, and my parents realized that I was completely independent.
It is not easy to study at MIPT, especially in contrast to schooling. In the gymnasium, I was a gold medalist, but here, rather, the middling. Although by the third year I stopped worrying about grades, I began to engage in more self-education and, despite the SES, find time to live outside of my studies.
We have a lot of pairs, but the flexible system of the Physics and Technology Institute allows you to skip lectures, and instead of them watch video consultations. During the semester, there is always something to do: already in the first week they give out a book called “The Assassin,” where there is a list and sometimes the terms of the tasks for the whole semester, deadlines and approximate dates of control. It looks scary, especially when they indicate how many hours it will be necessary to spend on the decision! To be honest, on my own, I don’t cope with everything, I was lucky with my classmates, we try to help each other. Therefore, I have time to fully relax: go to the theaters, to exhibitions, and sometimes just for hours to drink tea from a friend.
Now I am leading the Cultural Fiztech project - we cooperate with Moscow theaters and other cultural institutions so that students can visit them for a discount (student discounts are not intended everywhere, and not everyone knows about their existence). We also publish digests of events at the weekend, instagram and make a bot in a telegram for art lovers. Of course, it takes a lot of time, but it’s an excellent teamwork experience and a truly inspiring social project. I am very pleased that he is supported: the students like him, we receive grants. This is work, and hobby, and endless education. Thanks to him, I tried myself in cultural journalism.
In my group in the first and second year there were two girls, including me, and this despite the fact that my faculty is not the most "male". The boys behaved with us in a gentlemanly way: they not only held the door and explained the incomprehensible, but also missed them for an early exam (they can often be “caught a freebie”). Now, after distribution to the basic departments of girls and boys, almost equally. At school I always talked more with girls, and at the university at first it was unusual that there were so few of them and we had to look for friends. But I soon became friends with my roommate and co-mate.
In my opinion, gender stereotypes in science in some sense play into the hands of women: it is much more interesting to surprise and achieve success when you are not expected to do this than to disappoint when they put too much on you. In my interview at admission was a funny case. The fact is that in my faculty there are so-called strong mathematical groups, and in order to get into them, the entrant needs to pass another interview, having solved the problem. I, as a risk lover, went. When I handed over the work, the teacher (woman) glanced at it and said: “Not bad for a girl, but for a strong group — well, I don't know ...” I was not sorry, I was an optimist, but I was accepted into a strong group.
For a long time, women could not study at universities, so we had to catch up with men. In addition, before women did not engage in applied research simply because of the lack of physical strength - because the experiments were conducted manually. Today the situation has changed, but stereotypes have not completely disappeared. The school tells which professions are supposedly suitable for girls. This is wrong, and it is worthwhile to motivate girls in their early youth. Recently, I saw a graph of the distribution of talents by gender (I don’t know how true it is, but it corresponds to my personal observations): among men there are much more geniuses, but among women there are much more educated people with average or above average intelligence. Men - an extreme, women - stability. In my opinion, it is a sin not to use this array of intellect in science and industry.
In the future, I am going to go to the magistracy, and work in the knowledge-intensive industry - to apply the obtained diverse physical and technical knowledge, and not just drive the data into the Excel. Now I am thinking about my scientific career due to trips to the school of optimization, visiting lectures of the mathematical circle. Who knows, maybe it will!
I always loved physics, so I immediately tuned in to go to Baumanka. At first I went to a specialized college, and from there I already got into the faculty of optical-electronic devices and special-purpose systems. This is a technique for cameras, sights, the space industry, lasers, and so on. I didn’t get into Baumanka itself, I just got automatically after college. My dad is a techie, and my mother is a humanist, but in general my decision suited everyone.
My department is located in Krasnogorsk, so it is easier to study with us than in the main building. In addition, we are on the stream quite a bit, and everyone knows each other. And I still have time for my own affairs - I love to snowboard and draw.
There are 38 people in my group, three of them are girls, and there are only five girls on the stream, one of whom is my girlfriend. I feel comfortable in such a team, because all the guys are very kind. Since childhood, I talked more with the boys, so for me it is familiar. I notice that in our faculty girls love more, and even teachers are treated with respect, because we are few. I don’t know why it turns out this way - it’s probably a matter of stereotypes that only boring nerds are sitting in Baumanka. But this is not true, and it is very interesting to study - I have never regretted my choice.
I acted in a targeted direction, so I have a contract with the Zenit plant, and I will work there for three years. However, it is not yet clear what is there with the salary and conditions. For now, just calmly learning.
After the ninth grade from the humanitarian gymnasium, I went to the lyceum with a physical and chemical orientation. Now I don’t remember well what motivated me, it seems, was the thought that everything else is given too simply, but in physics there is much to strive for. In addition, during my studies at the gymnasium, I constantly participated in conferences on physics and mathematics.
In my hometown, this high school is considered, if not elite, then at least prestigious. To study in it is honorable and difficult, there is quite a serious selection. The training itself was as cool as possible. In addition to having a great group, we had the best teachers in the city, interesting laboratory work, even scientific supervisors and our own projects. All this led to the fact that I went to the conference with my scientific work at MIPT - I won and fell in love with the institute. This was in March before entering. As a result, I got into the faculty of aerophysics and space research.
My hometown is four thousand kilometers from Moscow, but my mother, a geologist by training, took my choice very calmly. She generally supports me in everything! Although her friends chorused asserted that this could be dangerous.
Studying at MIPT is hard, but not impossible - it all depends on perseverance and the desire to learn. Not everyone copes with the load of the Physics and Technology Institute. For such people, the institute has a psychology service that helps students cope with the workload and not go to a mental hospital or suicide (both at the Physical Technological Institute often happens). In the first three courses, couples often go all day, there is also a lot of homework, students do it at night, this is considered normal. "Physical technicians can stay up all night - this is a bot", is one of the most famous jokes about MIPT. Although I personally always had time for myself during the semester, another thing is session. At the same time I can not say that I am a good student. For good students, study is always in the foreground and in the record of assessment is better than mine.
80% of MIPT students come from the regions, and often even Muscovites lodge in the hostels. Dormitories are located directly across the road from the buildings, it turns out such a mini-city, from which the first courses do not leave very often. Because of this, a bunch of sections were formed at Fiztekh, groups — from the Orthodox community to the spoken English club. In this case, all sections are managed by the students themselves. From the first course I started to be active, at first I had a hobby - I made the design of posters, presentations, booklets. Moreover, posters were often for internal physical activities. Later the trade union committee for students began, now I am the vice-chairman. I enjoy working with students, making life more comfortable and more interesting, protecting their rights - it is not an empty phrase at Fiztekh. I really like that Fiztech exists a little apart from the rest of the world - this is really a breeding ground for talented guys.
Despite the fact that the girls are much smaller, I have never considered my faculty, and indeed the institute, male. So there were no psychological difficulties. For all the time of training, 25 people passed through my group, specially considered. Among them, I was always the only girl. And the bachelor graduated only seven people. Most were expelled, someone was tired of studying and went to other universities.
Students, regardless of gender, will always help, if you ask, they will learn to solve something, help you to understand. Perhaps sexism is sometimes manifested during the tests and examinations, some teachers have a softer attitude towards girls, give higher marks, but this is very rare. There is an opinion that girls-fizteshki have high self-esteem and look like something not according to the canons of instagram. Well, let it exist, what is it to us?
After graduating from undergraduate, I went to the magistracy of another department. Here are gorgeous teachers and very interesting subjects. Now I combine my studies with the work of a business assistant, more likely just to make money, and at the same time I am looking for an interesting job in my specialty.
Tracing the moment when I was interested in mathematics is quite difficult. My parents graduated from MSU, and my mother is a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences and still teaches at this faculty. So I was surrounded by mathematics since childhood. I studied in the math class of school number 57, where there was a very high level of training. After graduating from school, I realized that, like my mother, I would like to do science, and I chose a faculty that is considered one of the best in Russia for these purposes.
Every year I wrote math olympiads and won prizes, and the eleventh grade was no exception. As a preparation, I resolved all the variants of the past years and became a prize-winner in several olympiads, thanks to one of which I entered. It remains for me only to pass the exam in mathematics for a decent score, which I easily did. I am fully capable of studying at the faculty. There is enough time, but end-to-end, so life turns out to be quite saturated.
Before the mathematics, I studied for four years in a class where there were 4 girls and 16 boys, so I don’t get used to the “male team”. А на моём курсе соотношение примерно 5 мальчиков к 2 девочкам, что ещё меньше, чем было в школе, поэтому поначалу мне даже, наоборот, было непривычно от количества девушек. Сейчас мне совершенно комфортно, общаюсь со всеми одинаково.In general, matfak is remarkable for the extreme progressiveness and adequacy of the majority of students, and to meet there a sexist or, for example, homophobia is a rarity.
Until a certain age, I couldn’t even think of that a woman-mathematician is something special, since there was always an example of a mother before my eyes. And only strangers like taxi drivers and doctors were surprised at this. The very same mathematical society has always seemed to me as unbiased as possible with respect to gender.
Naturally, here you can also encounter sexism, but it does not affect the professional sphere. The maximum teacher can marvel at how much progress a girl has achieved.
Despite this, at some point I began to feel on my shoulders some burden of responsibility, as if I owed my example to prove to the whole world that a woman can become a good mathematician. Therefore, sometimes I have a feeling that my achievements are not only personally mine, but also of some fictional female community, and therefore I have to work even more. However, I think this is just a part of my inner misdiagnosis, which many people face, and not being techies.
It seems to me that women rarely go to technical specialties because of the wrong attitude of parents and teachers. When the idea of the incompatibility of women and technical specialties dies, the situation with a gender advantage in the respective faculties will be resolved.