Why Women Leave STEM, How to Spot Burnout, and Advocate for Real Change- Beyond the Pipeline with Belinda Di Bartolo, Jessica Borger and Cassie Leonard
MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought LeadershipShow Notes
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
Want to craft a career story that opens doors? I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you. 📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn
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