Beyond the Pipeline: Why Women Leave STEM, How to Spot Burnout, and Advocate for Real Change
This episode will put words on what many women in STEM feel but have not articulated.
The podcast episode critiques performative International Women’s Day gestures and focuses on lived experiences behind why women leave STEM, featuring three co-authors of the collaborative book Beyond the Pipeline: Cassie Leonard, Associate Professor Jessica Borger, and Dr. Belinda Bartolo.
The 3 authors represent 3 paths within the STEM sector, pivoting and staying to change the system from within.
Host Angelique shares her own career pivots and ongoing struggles with high expectations and fatigue, while the guests describe identity shifts, loss of joy, and turning points that led them to stay and advocate within systems or pivot into new paths.
They discuss systemic drivers of attrition—burnout, feeling undervalued/imposter syndrome, and bias—illustrating bias through examples tied to motherhood and career interruptions, as well as bias toward non-parents.
The conversation covers boundaries, redefining success, portfolio careers, four types of burnout, and advocacy that is collective and non-performative, including allies’ roles and examples of media-driven national-level change during the pandemic.
00:00 IWD Hype vs Reality
01:16 Meet the Authors
01:44 Host Story and Stakes
03:22 Jess Finds Her Voice
06:04 Filters and Advocacy
07:30 Belinda Loses the Joy
11:25 Cassie Pressured Out
14:07 Boundaries and Glass Balls
18:34 Portfolio Careers in STEM
21:15 Why Women Leave STEM
23:29 Bias Stories and Language
29:03 Motherhood And Imposter Syndrome
30:45 Fixing Parental Leave Systems
32:34 Bias Against Childfree Workers
34:21 Finding The Right Workplace Fit
36:13 Career Visibility For Students
37:20 Four Types Of Burnout
42:01 Breaking The Busy Culture
43:56 Advocacy Without Performative Gestures
47:22 Allies Speaking Up Effectively
50:16 Pandemic Anger To National Change
52:38 How Media Advocacy Snowballed
53:37 Final Takeaways
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