“We think that our online presence allows us to have really wide-spread effects, so our audience can be nation-wide,” Julia says. “People might not have time to go to an event or a conference ... but everybody has time to check their computer.”

Professor Melissa Franklin, who was named the first female chair of the Harvard Physics Department in 2010, says that though the department’s female population has risen in recent years, there are still inherent obstacles in the system.

“It’s hard to be a minority,” Franklin says. “I used to think it had a lot to do with confidence. If girls had confidence, they would just learn physics, no matter what anybody else thought.”

Susanne F. Yelin, a senior research fellow in the physics department, said she feels that “on average, women doubt themselves much more than men,” and that “one always feels like the odd one out at meetings where everyone else is male.”

For these reasons, she believes a publication like WISE Words that promotes the visibility of women in science is invaluable.

Whether facilitating mentorship relationships, challenging stereotypes, or providing role models, these clubs have in common a desire to make evident the potential for rewarding and engaging scientific careers for women.

Richardson notes that once women break into certain fields, they ask different types of questions, thereby generating new knowledge and transforming the discipline in exciting ways.

“If a woman is willing to stick with a career in science or engineering, she has a really bright future,” Bhatia says.

“With the girls in my class, I tell them: ‘you belong here.’”

—Zhanrui Kuang contributed reporting to this story.

—Staff writer Julie R. Barzilay can be reached at jbarzilay13@college.harvard.edu.