Imagine sitting in a class where raising a hand to clarify something might be damaging to one’s reputation, where awkward laughs are elicited at a sexist joke or comment by the professor or where the only pronouns heard all semester are “he” and “him.” For some women on campus, imagining isn’t necessary.

Over time, women’s groups have grown in popularity on campus. Some current groups include Undergraduate Women in Physics, Women in Medicine, Women in Mechanical Engineering and Women in Math Mentoring. Members of these groups gave explanations for why they feel these groups should exist today. 

“You’re not competing for anything,” said mathematics junior Laura Jbeily, a member of Women in Medicine. “(These groups) cultivate a nice environment and community among women. Women have different struggles and perspectives than men.”

These groups do everything from community outreach to socials. Primarily, the focus is offering a community for members and connecting them with working professionals that relate to their own situations, members said.

“It’s motivational to know that being a woman isn’t going to … make it impossible to be who you want to be even though we have a very male-dominated field,” said Natalia Mandujano, human development and family sciences senior and member of Women in Medicine. “These working professionals can balance work and life.”

Some groups are only for women, but others are open to men as well. All members are allies in protecting and promoting the rights of every student in the prospective fields, said Hannah Hasson, a physics and astronomy junior and president of Undergraduate Women in Physics.

“You can’t just make a little progress and say we’re done if it’s nowhere near equal,” said Justin Yudichak, physics and astronomy sophomore and member of Undergraduate Women in Physics. “You can’t get complacent. I’m more aware of my own biases and work to fix them. We need to spread that awareness.”

These groups aim to promote greater awareness, aid in academic and professional growth, offer a comfortable and relatable environment and encourage women to not only join these fields but also stay in them, members said.

The further women go up the ladder in these fields, the more women seem to fall out of them, Hasson said. This occurrence is termed “the leaky pipeline” as women “leak” out from the subjects.

“People say, ‘Oh, there’s 20 percent of women in your field. You should be happy, that’s much better than what it used to be,’” Hasson said. “It’s almost them saying, ‘Shut up and stop complaining.’ But I’m not going to be happy because we have achieved a fifth. I want the numbers to get better.”

Although gender-related issues, especially in these fields, are still a problem, many people are trying to help, UT research scientist Kristen McQuinn said.

“At a high level, people are making conscious efforts to combat gender bias,” said McQuinn, a former speaker to Undergraduate Women in Physics. “They are working in very meaningful and intentional ways to help.”