Sarah K. S.
I am a sixteen year old aspiring engineer, and am studying a lot of mathematical subjects. I was once at a family gathering where the topic of women in STEM fields came up, and I was told that “boys are just better at those types of subjects naturally”, and I that I am highly unusual. Another time, I was partaking in a robotics competition with another female friend, and we were walking around looking at the stands on our lunch break, when a group of strange boys from another school started wolf whistling at us. We were in school uniform at the time. As a child,I went to an open day for the secondary school I now attend. When I was about to go into the metalwork and engineering room to take a look at it, my mother dragged me away saying, “That’s a boys subject!” She brought me to the home economics room instead. You might be pleased to know that I am taking engineering as a Leaving Cert subject, and she has completely changed her mind on women in engineering and is delighted for me! Last year, I was leaving a party with a group of family and friends when a man I barely knew at all (who by now was quite intoxicated) draped his arm around my shoulders as I tried to walk back to where I was staying with my parents. His arm soon slipped from my shoulder to my waist, even though I clearly was very uncomfortable: my arms were folded, my expression was uncomfortable, and I was trying to turn away from him. No-one said anything, not even the family and friends who were walking with us, or my parents. I was afraid to say anything in case I would offend anyone. I was only fifteen, this man was middle aged. My late grandmother lived a few minutes walk away from the city nearest which I live. I was walking from the city to visit her one day when a group of men, around their late twenties, started whistling and shouting at me from the other side of the street. They were looking me up and down, like I was a piece of meat. I kept my head down and walked faster. They kept on shouting and I was petrified in case they would follow me. I was fifteen years old.