Dear Paola Chousal and El Ciento-Siete team:

I would like to respond to the article “Why Girls Waste Their Genius,” written by Joaquín Derby, Eugenia Rodríguez, Gabriel Ruiz, and Mónica Turner.

I’m a math guy. I’m really good with numbers but I can’t really draw. I have no interest in politics and I’m not much of a reader. Having said that, I still believe all of these fields, including humanities, have the same importance than those in STEM. To say that woman “waste their genius” (as your title would suggest) by not going into STEM, undermines other areas, their research and contributions to society. A world can’t progress without politicians leading countries. Economists must be able to predict trends to avoid national inflation or deflation. And thanks to psychologists and sociologists, we are closer to understand why humans behave in certain ways.

While it is true that STEM is full of innovation and mostly dominated by men, this does not necessarily mean that woman must absolutely pursue this fields to make it an even 50-50. Woman and men should both be allowed to follow any career path they desire, without people questioning whether it is a women or men’s career. I truly believe that an individual’s decision to take either AP Physics C, Advanced Journalism or Mexican Anthropology must be respected.

Yours truly,

Santiago Montemayor