Sacramento State’s Women’s Resource Center opened its Science and Math Cafe Oct. 27 for all women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The Science and Math Cafe will continue to be held in the University Union Forest Suite from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. as a regular scholarly program every Tuesday starting this semester.

The program was designed to encourage women to pursue careers in the STEM fields and provide them a place to ask questions and receive help, said Science and Math Cafe tutor Monique Bastidas, senior biochemistry major.

The tutors in the Cafe are all graduate women who make the atmosphere appealing, comfortable and fun to other women in the field, she said.

They provide one-on-one drop-in tutoring services in the STEM disciplines that are traditionally underrepresented by women.

The Women’s Resource Center designed the Cafe for women in order for them to find a place of their own, said Alysson Satterlund, interim director of student activities and the Women’s Resource and PRIDE centers.

Women can meet other colleagues who are working with similar subjects and find someone that can answer their questions about their coursework, Satterlund said.

According to the National Science Foundation’s 2007 Division of Science Association study, men outnumber women 73 percent to 27 percent in areas of science and engineering employment.

The fact that women are outnumbered by men in the STEM fields is not only true in the U.S., but has also been seen as a trend throughout the world.

According to the Sociologists for Women in Society website, a study in Sweden found that women had to score five times higher in the merit review process to be rated the same as men.

In the United Kingdom, women have accounted for half of biology graduates for 30 years, yet hold only 9 percent of full professorships, according to a study by Women and Science Unit at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research at Brussels.

The clarity of women being underrepresented in science fields is what brings programs such as the Science and Math Cafe to colleges throughout the nation.

“The Cafe is open for everybody, even men,” Satterlund said. “However, we hope women will take advantage of the opportunity and have a regular place to meet with other women who come together around these academic disciplines and find support.”

There are several factors that explain the underrepresentation of women, said Mridula Udayagiri, professor of sociology.

Some of the reasons appear early in elementary and middle schools due to the pedagogical strategies used by teachers and at colleges in STEM fields as well as STEM careers, she said.

There is clear evidence that teachers continue to favor boys in math classes at the elementary level. This affects the girls’ self-esteem and self-confidence, which impacts their assessment of math abilities, Udayagiri said.

Middle school girls start disengaging from math, which is crucial in order to pursue STEM-related careers later in college, she said.

“The Science and Math Cafe provides an important resource for women students to get together to build on their skills and level of self confidence,” Udayagiri said.

The Cafe idea was brought to Sac State from UC Davis, Satterlund said.

The Women’s Resource Center looked into many programs at different women’s resource centers around universities to find something fun, helpful and not resource-intensive.

Finally, they found the Science and Math Cafe at UC Davis, which Satterlund said was the Davis resource center’s most popular program.

Thus far, turnout of people at the Cafe is nonexistent. This is due to no advertising of the program on campus or online.

Lindsy Brent, a marketing student assistant, came onboard with the Women’s Resource Center just last week and is in the process of creating advertisements for the Cafe.

Brent said she will have advertisements ready by next week to promote the program both in print and online.

The Cafe had a weak start, but its members have high hopes that there is going to be a lot of interest once people are aware of the program, she said.

Blazej Bruzda can be reached at [email protected].