One thing that doesn’t change when you leave graduate school is the ratio of men to women in the sciences. I suppose I thought it would. I hardly noticed while I was in grad school. You do notice when you go to work. It’s very obvious when you’re the only female in a room of 30. All eyes are on you and your presentation. I have to say I was respected, but I think that was more out of being more educated.

I understand the desire to blend in and hardly be noticed as one of the few females in a sea of males. It’s easier because being noticed means for some very strange encounters. Weirdness on occasion is okay. Weirdness on a regular basis makes you want to shoot people.

As an undergrad in engineering, I dressed conservatively as well. My sorority sisters often begged me to go to the engineering library. I got interrupted every five minutes by some guy stopping by. The girls thought it was great. They were guaranteed to meet at least a dozen guys through me. Not even going in sweats without makeup made a difference. I hated going to the engineering library because I couldn’t get anything done. I had enough homework that I didn’t have time to play at the library. Going to the engineering library to “study” meant several more hours of study time back at my room. Worthless. Waste.

I dressed very conservatively for work as well. On the occasions that I wore a v-neck, all attention was on the skin above the “v.” It isn’t easy to work when your coworkers and boss are tyring to get a glimpse down your shirt. I was able to be more productive if I wore turtlenecks and long sleeves. No way would I wear jeans. I don’t own a single pair that doesn’t hug every curve. I like them that way, but they are useless for work. Even dressing so conservatively didn’t keep the guys from looking, but at least they could still work. Those lovely tops that are all over the stores were just too distracting for them.