Whether it is Economics or History, Finance or Engineering, most of us have been in a class dominated by our male peers. Many majors will never have a fully equal representation of men and women, so we are all likely to encounter a situation where we are one of the few females, not the many. These situations can be intimidating and overwhelming but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
So picture this: we can all relate to the rush of walking into a new class, scanning the room, hoping to see some familiar faces, glancing up and down the rows of chairs as you slowly find a seat; one that will likely be your seat for the rest of the semester, so no pressure. It is safer to sit in the back to avoid causing too much attention to yourself. You get there early and watch others walk in: first, the boys that live down the hall, then an athlete or two, and the guy you saw in the Caf getting breakfast that morning. You wait and wait, hoping to see a familiar female face, but it just doesn’t come. The guy you had a crush on last semester sits on your left, and the seat stays empty to your right. The cute guy you follow on Instagram walks in with his friends a minute later. Then comes the male professor, which makes the male to female ratio about 10-1.
It’s daunting to find yourself surrounded by men, especially in a class that values participation and presentations. Would you rather be ignored, or would you rather be a present, active, role-model student for the class? Do you want to impress the cute guy from Instagram, or just pretend you’re not there?
This uncomfortable, overly competitive environment isn’t one we asked to be in, but it’s one we can thrive in. My male-dominated classes have taught me more about who I am as a student and they can open up realizations for you as well. Rather than shying away and putting your head down because you’re scared of being wrong, you can use this as an opportunity to be punctual and present in class, do homework more diligently so you’re prepared for any question, and prove yourself to be more than the stereotypical “weak link” in a group of all guys. These situations can end up pushing us more than a class full of girls. Rather than focusing on our visual presentation – our clothes, makeup, hair – and feeling pressured by our surroundings, we need to find a way to thrive in a class like this. To stand out and impress someone in a class like that isn’t about showing up with curled hair and cool shoes, it’s about raising your hand boldly and answering questions in front of the class. It’s about doing all the reading even though it’s not required. It’s about showing your male classmates how to solve that math or physics problem. It’s showing that you care and showing up when you have the responsibility to do so.
We can use this competition and pressure to our advantage. Interpret this situation not as a nightmare, but as an opportunity. Frankly, I did better in classes like these because I was hyper-focused on my preparedness and achievements in that class. I felt like I had something to prove. It makes me wonder if that class was only girls, would I still have gotten an A?