Computer science, engineering, and economics have some of the most disproportionate ratios of male-to-female students of any academic field nationwide. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2021, only 21.9 percent of those earning bachelor’s degrees in computer science in the United States were assigned female at birth; 25 percent of those earning bachelor’s degrees in engineering in 2022; and one-third of economics bachelor’s recipients.

Given these statistics, the Review sought out the perspectives of Computer Science, Engineering, and Economics students who are women or nonbinary to learn about their experiences studying generally male-dominated subjects at Oberlin. 

Those interviewed from Computer Science and Economics departments reported a lower percentage of non-male students in higher-level classes. For instance, College fourth-year and Computer Science major Madison Kekic spoke of seeing fewer non-male students in her CSCI 241 Systems Programming class, after experiencing a more equal distribution of male and non-male students in 100-level courses. 

Meanwhile, College fourth-year and Economics major Ellie Hyde said that far fewer women enroll in 200-level Economics courses than men. Paul Brehm, associate professor of Economics and Environmental Studies and chair of Economics, cited statistics collected by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning that an average of 35.2 percent of Economics majors who graduated from 2014 to 2024 were women.

“Structurally there’s nothing … keeping women out [of the Economics department] in any way, but socially, that’s a different ballgame,” double-degree third-year Samantha Lewis, who is studying Financial Economics in the College said. “When you walk into [a] room, and it’s largely male-dominated … it’s going to feel very intimidating.” 

By contrast, College third-year Aila Peterson said that the classes she’s taken as part of the 3-2 Engineering program have not featured outsized numbers of male students.

“I think it’s been a pretty even split in a lot of my classes,” Peterson said. “Especially my physics classes … have had a pretty good representation from all genders.”

Students in each department also gave varying descriptions of their relationships with non-male peers. Reports differed as to the extent of community among non-male Computer Science students; while Kekic spoke of multiple separate groups of female-identifying students, Muradi, who has also taken classes in the department, said that she did not find that there were many opportunities for women in the department to interact.

“We do have the femmes in STEM hours, and that’s meant to create a community,” Kekic said, referencing a weekly event during which Computer Science lab helpers are available to assist specifically female-identifying people. “But even then — I used to run those hours, and an issue that we ended up having one semester is what seemed to be non-femme-identifying students coming to those hours, despite the sign on the board. And I feel like that can definitely discourage some people from coming.” 

Male students’ treatment of their peers was also a point of contention. According to Hyde, the high concentration of male students in Economics creates an atmosphere that can facilitate sexism.

“I have met a lot of female students who have been harassed or had negative experiences with men in the department,” Hyde said. “It’s not necessarily that every [masculine-identifying] Econ major is a bad person. … When all these men come together, they join into a hive mind, and then they all don’t want to challenge each other.”

On the other hand, Brame said that she had not received any objectionable treatment herself. Both Brame and Hyde said that they had no complaints about any Economics professors. College fourth-year and Economics, Mathematics, and Politics major Carlota Lorán López was similarly complimentary.

“I felt like I belonged in every class I took, and that comes mostly from the professors,” Lorán López said. “It is true that there’s not a lot of community among Econ majors, and in particular among women and non-athletes. … But for the most part, coming from the department, the faculty, everyone else, it’s been very supportive.” 

Kekic noted some instances of exclusionary treatment by men, but said this was not common.

“There have been situations where … people kind of talk over you a little bit, I suppose, and your ideas aren’t heard as much,” Kekic said. “But, I would say those are far and few between, in my experience.”

Peterson said that, of the two male Engineering students she had been in a class with, neither treated her poorly. Similarly, Nishalya Vijay Kumar, a second-year College student, Engineering major, and member of a gender minority, said that their male classmates did not treat them differently on account of their identity, and spoke of having professors who displayed accepting attitudes. 

Gender ratios were not the only line of separation that some students experienced. Kumar spoke of feeling out of place alongside students who came from more affluent backgrounds and had more experience in science and technology. Along similar lines, Kekic described the relationship between her status as a student who is a woman and a first-generation college attendee. 

“Not only are you, as a woman in STEM … less encouraged to explore that at a young age … but also you just don’t really have the resources, maybe, that other people have on top of that,” Kekic said.

Nevertheless, when asked what they would say to women or non-male students entering their departments, none of the people interviewed for this story discouraged them from doing so. 

“If it’s something that interests someone, the lack of gender diversity should not be a barrier,” Lorán López said of Economics.