By Afroditi A. Karagianni,
A few days ago, I happened to come across a very interesting article published in a magazine referred to as Impact. More specifically, a recent study compiled in the US proved that kids nowadays are drawing women scientists more than ever before. What is it that makes this news so exciting, and why is this study so encouraging to many among us?
To begin, the study contains data from about 20,860 drawings, which were drawn by students aged from 5 to 18 years old, in over 5 decades. The first experiment was conducted in the late 1960s and 1970s, when 5,000 elementary school children were asked to sketch their version of a scientist. As documented, only 28 (all girls) of the children queried drew a woman. The rest of the drawings depicted men wearing lab coats, glasses and facial hair who worked indoors, which, as a fact, reflects how society functioned at the time and its deeply sexist and rooted opinions on the sexes, their interests and their responsibilities.
Since that very first study, more than 20,000 children have participated in newer experiments, which concluded that children today are more likely to draw a woman scientist than they were five decades ago. In the original study, more than 99 percent of the children drew scientists as men. On average, between the years 1985 to 2016, that number dropped to 72 percent. The effect was stronger when the researchers looked at girls’ responses compared to boys, since in later decades, almost half of the girls drew their scientists as women.
Naturally, the trend in how children perceive scientists follows reflects the actual increase in the number of female scientists. “Over roughly the same time period —from 1960 to 2013— the percentage of women holding science jobs rose from 28% to 49% in biological sciences, from 8% to 35% in chemistry, and from 3% to 11% in physics and astronomy“, as stated in the journal, Science.
Why is this study so important? First and foremost, it clearly reflects the abovementioned increase in the numbers of women involved in STEM in real life, compared to the past. To paraphrase, the numbers of women pursuing these types of careers today are increasing day by day. This exciting reality is something that the world is nowadays gradually more willing to observe, and thus many younglings today have been made well aware of this incredible fact.
Moving on, the experiment depicts the shift in our mindset as a collective society. In other words, the children’s drawings constitute a valuable insight –a mirror, if you may– into society’s changing views concerning the subject of (scientific) professions. Today, more and more people are starting to realize that women are just as capable as any other professional to take up challenging roles and pursue a career in complex, competitive and difficult fields. No matter what their gender is, a person that is passionate about science and of certain capability in the field can achieve incredible things, and people are thankfully starting to catch up on that.
In addition, what is incredibly touching and proven through this study is that nowadays, more young women than ever are starting to draw and imagine women as scientists, and perhaps some of them are beginning to even see themselves as future female scientists. This is of course super encouraging and proves that young girls are both gradually shaking off the irrational narratives that past generations that past generations believed and are starting to feel more confident to live their lives on their own terms. As far as this research goes, it proves that they can now see themselves doing science just as good as anyone else, and this is absolutely amazing. And since representation matters, the more they draw pictures of the like, the more capable and surer they will feel to follow their (science related) passions and design their lives to their liking.
Finally, studies like this constitute valuable “reminders” for some of us. As a woman in the field, in times of crisis, I find comfort in knowing that there are little girls out there who believe in our capabilities. Drawings like these remind me that I belong in the space just as much as anyone, that I am capable of achieving great things and in the future, I might even be lucky enough to inspire other women to follow their passions unapologetically –and this is always worth the struggle.
Although there is room for further progression, the tide (when it comes to the sexes’ career choices) is slowly starting to shift, and this study is only a fragment of proof of this encouraging reality. What is our duty, however, is to make sure to encourage all young people around us to pursue their interests, follow their hearts and trust themselves and their abilities. By doing so, more confident and happy adults will be created, and the illogical beliefs and practices of the past will finally stay there, where they belong.
Reference
- What does a scientist look like? Children are drawing women more than ever before. Science. Available here
