Encouraging Today's Hidden Figures In STEM

Hidden Figures has taken not only the box office by storm, but the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education world as well. As a leading Oscar contender, it is helping to elevate the ongoing conversation surrounding women in STEM. By increasing awareness of past gender and racial inequity, Hidden Figures has sparked interest in addressing the inequities that are still present today. Studies show that female and male students actually perform equally well in mathematics and science on standardized tests, but larger gaps exist between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds or family income.

Hidden Figures is an important visualization of the intersectionality of human experience. Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughn were black, women, Southerners, and also mathematicians or engineers. We know girls and women face external hardships while studying and working in STEM, such as micro-aggressions, sexism, isolation, and exclusion. We also know that deterrents such as these increase the underrepresented girl, i.e. a black girl, a Latina girl, or a Native girl. What Hidden Figures has helped to show the public is the identities of black and female were turned into unethical, inefficient, nonsensical obstacles that these remarkably intelligent and driven mathematicians and engineers had to face. The film shows that girls and young women, particularly those also racially underrepresented in STEM, can do anything they set their mind to.

National Girls Collaborative (NGC) implements a tested, comprehensive program of change that uses collaboration to expand and strengthen STEM-related opportunities for girls and women. In each state, the NGC model creates a network of professionals, researchers, and practitioners, facilitating collaboration and delivering high-quality research-based professional development. We strengthen the capacity of projects by sharing research-based exemplary practices, program models and products. We train and mentor participants to collaborate and create partnerships at the state and local level. Through this network, we work with over 22,800 organizations that are dedicated to effectively serving girls in STEM. By connecting these organizations with one another, NGC fosters an environment of collaboration which ultimately benefits the girls being served by these programs.

In hopes to see more women in STEM, like those featured in Hidden Figures, specific methods can be used to encourage, engage and retain girls in STEM.

To begin, STEM is an inherently creative pursuit, and organizations like Destination Imagination encourage educators and parents to help keep it that way. Girls, like boys, are creative thinkers and the more they can explore within the world of STEM—particularly at young ages—the greater chance they have at fostering a STEM interest and ownership over STEM projects. Low-cost projects on sites like MakerEd or Design Squad Global are great to try at home or in your classroom.

Studies have shown that as girls move from elementary into middle school, their self-esteem drops rapidly. As researcher Dr. Jacquelynne S. Eccles, professor from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor points out, “during middle childhood, children develop a sense of self-esteem and individuality, comparing themselves with their peers.” At this time, girls are honing in on their sense of self, and it’s crucial for adults in their lives to convey positive messaging around the ability of girls and women in STEM. Successfully doing this requires an increased awareness of something called ‘micro-messaging.’ Micro-messages are small, often subconscious, spoken or unspoken communication cues, usually subtly positive or negative. One example of a micro-message might be an educator consistently calling on the boys to answer questions in a math class. The educator may not even realize what they are doing, but meanwhile a negative micro-message is being sent to the girls in the class that the boys are more knowledgeable than them, which is statistically not the case.

For kids in the middle school and early high school age-range, a critical time not only for personal development but also the development of essential STEM skills, adults should constantly present examples of women in STEM to girls. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through exposure to role models in STEM. Role models demonstrate to girls what they can become and gives them something to aspire towards. This is where Hidden Figures shines! The depiction of the women’s lives in Hidden Figures shows girls the qualities and characteristics needed to succeed in STEM: grit, resilience, a sense of humor, to name a few. Additionally, the need for a diverse range of role models is essential, because girls of all backgrounds should have someone they can see themselves in. SciGirls does an excellent job of showcasing a diverse range of role models in a series of online videos.

The last strategy known throughout our network to be a truly impactful one for young women is the meaningful connection with a female STEM mentor. Even now, young women from high school to college often find themselves the only women in the room. This is even more common when it comes to computer science and engineering. Having a direct connection with another woman who has forged that path can give insight and help reduce the feelings of isolation. NGC manages a database of women mentors called FabFems, and encourages all women in STEM to become a part of it. Either as a role model or mentor, female presence on the platform can make all the difference for the next generation of women in STEM and help create the Katherine Johnsons, Mary Jacksons, and Dorothy Vaughns of tomorrow.

These methods have been discovered through the collective efforts of NGC’s network and partnerships with like-minded organizations. Though these evidence-based recommendations are provided in order of the age range and with a focus on girls in STEM, any strategy can be employed at any time for anyone, including boys. Here’s to more movies like Hidden Figures, and a more equitable representation of women and men of all ethnic and socioeconomic groups in STEM.