Natural resource fields have been dominated by men since the pioneer days of clearing trees for croplands, homes and fuel. Today, there are many women studying and working in natural resource fields. Despite the increase in diversity in natural resources fields, they remain male dominated.
A major topic in today’s society is diversity in many different fields. The school of forest resources and environmental science’s director of recruiting, Jerry Jondreau, said diversity is important because “it’s important that new perspectives are brought to the table.”
SFRES is working to promote women in natural resources related fields. Two professors, Tara Bal and Yvette Dickinson, recently suggested the creation of a women in natural resources group at Michigan Tech, with positive results. The response was “very enthusiastic. Beyond what we were expecting,” said Yvette Dickinson. Approximately 30 people, including five to six staff members, were present at the first meeting, with several others emailing in. During the meeting, the discussions about the creation and continuance of the group went well. Jondreau said, “I think it’s great that the women have come together in our school to support each other, and even though I’m not female, I am 110 percent behind them. And I’m hoping everyone will be supportive of the effort.”
However, it is not only the faculty that feel this group is important, but the students as well. Wildlife ecology major Lauryn Watkoske said, “It’s a great idea. It will bring together women working in a similar field. They can collaborate, come up with new ideas, start up new projects, and find future opportunities.” Students of all grades, freshmen to graduate students, as well as faculty members have shown support for the women in natural resources group. Tara Bal said, “It’s some kind of a gap we are filling. Within an hour of that meeting there was a student Facebook group.”
The group is still in development, but it is making progress. “In the first meeting we had about ten students volunteered to be a part of the working group to get an official student group started,” said Dickinson. Approximately a third of the women in the school of forest resources and environmental science showed some form of support for this first meeting.
There are similar groups at other universities, however there are none on a national scale. The goal of this group, and others like it, is to bring together the women in a male dominated field, instilling confidence in a group of knowledgeable women and building a sense of camaraderie. Another goal of this group is to create a form of mentorship between the members, both in a formal research and career centered way as well as a less formal friendly way.
This group is not intended to be for the school of forest resources and environmental science alone. Ultimately, this group is geared towards bringing together women in all natural resources studies. This includes students and faculty members of the biology and social science departments. Jondreau said, “There are still a lot of barriers that we need to open up to really achieve an environment that is welcoming to all of these different perspectives.” The group has much work to do, but their goal is to have a thriving community of women growing and working together in the near future for many years to come.
