Women in STEM: Oral Histories from 21st-Century Scientists

To gain insight into the experiences of women in STEM fields at the University of Utah, undergraduate students in the History of Women in Science, Technology, and Medicine course first collected oral history interviews with four different women, in different fields, during Spring 2021. The students were led by Assistant Professor Rachel Mason Dentinger (Department of History). In Fall 2024, a new cohort of students in this course contributed additional oral history interviews and content to the exhibit.

 

Each woman interviewed has a bio page with links to full interview recordings and transcripts. The bio pages can be found below, organized by STEM field. The connected exhibit pages—linked in the toolbar to the left and the list of recurring interview themes below—were researched, written, and designed by the students. These pages use highlights from the interviews to explore the experiences of women in STEM fields, including specific challenges that disproportionately impact women in STEM, from a lack of representation and mentorship, to the difficulty of navigating academic systems in conjunction with family responsibilities. In addition, several students in the 2024 cohort completed research on women in STEM in the University of Utah's Special Collections in Marriott Library, which are also linked below.