USC WiSE aims to help women in STEM find community


In 2000, USC received an anonymous donation of $20 million. The donor wished for the money to go toward an increase in the representation of women in engineering and science at the University.

Junior Kylie Burdsall (right) and her graduate mentor Ariel Wein (left), attended a conference in Shanghai, China, last summer. Photo courtesy of Kylie Burdsall.

The gift sparked conversations across campus on how to increase gender diversity within USC’s STEM programs. After several meetings and discussions among faculty from the Viterbi School of Engineering and the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the organization Women in Science and Engineering was born.

The program is intended to create a more female-friendly workplace and learning environment for researchers, students and faculty.

“I think the best thing about WiSE is that it creates a community of women who can meet together and find camaraderie,” WiSE program manager Mallory Redel said. “A lot of women, especially in the least-represented departments, may be the only women or the only woman in their laboratory. So it’s really good for them to meet other people from other labs and other departments where they can share experiences and talk about ‘I’m not alone in this.’”

Kylie Burdsall, a junior majoring in biochemistry, was involved with WiSE last summer . As an undergraduate fellow, she received stipends for conducting research over the summer and into the academic year.

She said having a graduate student mentor enhanced her excitement for working in the lab. Because of the level of support the WiSE program offers, Burdsall has had the opportunity  to work closely with her mentor not only in labs, but also with graduate school applications, professional support and advice.

“It’s great for older grad students to get involved because I think such a huge part of me having such a positive experience was having a graduate student mentor,” Burdsall said. “I think the program wouldn’t be the same without it.”

WiSE gives female students grants, awards and scholarships to encourage research and create opportunities that they may otherwise be unable to pursue due to tuition, travel or housing costs. These monetary awards are distributed to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.

In addition to providing financial and academic support for students, WiSE specializes in professional development workshops, hosting speakers and networking events among female faculty. Since 2000, WiSE has more than tripled the number of women faculty in USC science and engineering departments, according to Redel.

WiSE Gabilan assistant professor Heather Culbertson started working at USC this semester and said she is already impressed with the inclusivity of the program.

“What I’ve noticed about the WiSE community is how welcoming everyone is to all women in engineering,” Culbertson said. “WiSE is ‘Women in Science and Engineering’ but it’s also open to men who are advocates for women in science and engineering. [It definitely encourages]  men to become involved as well.”

Redel said the program is currently focusing on creating interdisciplinary support for graduate and Ph.D. students.

“This year we established a WiSE Ph.D. Advisory Board, which is made up of members from varying departments within the engineering school and then sciences and mathematics, so they can really work together and focus on coming up with a more centralized community of Ph.D. students,” Redel said.