Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi, guys, we are searching with my daughter some inspirational interviews, movies about teenage girls who have achieved results in science. You know there are some stereotypes that STEM is not a "girl's" realm. So maybe you have seen some articles where the girls tell why they chose science as their field of development, how the current generation of teenagers might be interested in it, and who they consider being their role model.

Hi - It is great that you are talking with your daughter about women in STEM. How old is your daughter?

I would think you will find lots and lots of great resources showing women in STEM at all ages.

These two resources are not about teenagers, but these are good starting points for any student to learn more about (and be inspired by) women in STEM:

https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/wom ... ce-history
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/wom ... ce-history

Your daughter may enjoy looking at information from the winners of top competitions like the Broadcom MASTERS science fair. For example, see this list of the 2019 winners:
https://www.societyforscience.org/press ... mpetition/


Amy
Science Buddies

Hi, there. I'm so excited to hear your daughter is excited in STEM and you're trying to find ways to encourage her to keep going. It is not always an easy path, but it is well worth it!

My initial advice was going to be to find local activities / camps that she could attend so she could meet other girls her age with the same interest. I've found in other activities that if teenagers can find a group with the same interest to create their friendship circle, they're more likely to continue with the activity. Unfortunately, with social distancing in effect and a lot of summer programs being cancelled, that might be difficult this year. Through a quick Google search, I found several virtual camps being offered that your daughter could participate and perhaps interact with peers that way.

I also found this magazine that is centered around inspiring interest in STEM in young women. They offer the first issue for free!
https://www.reinventedmagazine.com

These articles highlight young women in STEM. I found these with a Google search for "teenage girls famous STEM." There are several more results than what I listed below.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-inspir ... a23f25ca0a
https://www.societyforscience.org/blog/ ... -for-boys/
https://thebestschools.org/features/50- ... n-in-stem/

I hope this helps. Best of luck to you and your daughter. If she ever has any questions, she is most welcome to write back here!

Cheers!

Wow, Deana, thank you so much for all info.
I can say it really works.
We had a look with my daughter and she was so excited and inspired by this article https://www.societyforscience.org/blog/ ... -for-boys/. It helped her to understand that STEM is a great place for girls and don't need to be afraid, the science doesn't have a gender. We even have found one of the girls from an article on the youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnPCqck2iq0. it inspired her very much.

Fantastic! I'm glad she found articles and videos that inspire her. It can be difficult when you're in the minority to speak up and have your voice heard. Don't back down. We think differently than men, which brings a unique perspective to the table. An "outside the box" perspective is sometimes the best one. That's when innovation is born!

Good luck!

immy001 wrote:Hi, guys, we are searching with my daughter some inspirational interviews, movies about teenage girls who have achieved results in science. You know there are some stereotypes that STEM is not a "girl's" realm. So maybe you have seen some articles where the girls tell why they chose science as their field of development, how the current generation of teenagers might be interested in it, and who they consider being their role model.

Hi,

Over the course of my career, partly as an Engineering faculty member and partly as a practicing engineer, I have clearly observed the disparity in the number of young women that choose to pursue careers in the STEM fields and those actually working in the industries. This has always baffled me as in my experience girls and women exhibit a great capacity for logical and conscientious thinking which are assets to excelling in technical and scientific disciplines.

In spite of these situations, there are wealth of women from which girls can draw inspiration. One movie that comes to mind is "Hidden Figures." This movie is based on a group of real-life women that worked on the NASA space program. You can learn more about it here: https://www.space.com/35430-real-hidden-figures.html.

Looking to the present, there are a number of women that are shaping the scientific landscape. For example, Dr. Deborah Birx is one of the primary shapers of our strategy for bringing the Coronavirus under control and saving lives. You can read more about her here: https://www.state.gov/biographies/deborah-l-birx-md/.

There are many, many, many more women that have made significant contributions in STEM fields all of which are excellent role models that your daughter can look to for inspiration.

It's true that it's a shame women are such a minority in STEM courses... And I'm saying that as someone who, once, was a man studying humanities I think it'd be good to have more positive female role models associated with these fields of study, as most female scientists/engineers in movies, games etc are usually seen as either nerdy, or as "women first, scientists later". This creates a sort of opposition between "being a girl/woman" and "studying sciences", a purely artificial one that hurts women and society in general.

there are few stories about women who achieved their dream in sciences and maths. Why don't you try to read on Edith Clarke. She is one of STEM scientist.