Across the world, women are massively unemployed in science, technology and engineering fields. And less and less, girls are enrolling in these subjects at school. University science courses are dominated by blokes.
But is this really the answer? This bizarre video has been released in the US and it’s going viral fast.
The campaign is supposed to show women and girls that ‘science does not just mean old men is white coats’.
Does this trivialise the contribution of women to science of it is just a bit of harmless fun that might encourage more women to give science a second chance?
Comments
43 Comments so far
Less and less? Do you have the stats to back this up? I’m mother to an 11 year old female “nerd” who wants to either be a an engineer or lawyer, she’s currently working her way through “A briefer history of time”. She’s an attractive, popular and confident little thing and I’ve never thought of the sciences as being inappropriate for her because of her gender. I thought the clip was fine. What’s wrong with science being “a girl thing”, and what’s wrong with science being fun?
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As a female scientist I am not offended by this. I may not be strutting my stuff in the lab in stillettos, but I do consider myself fairly feminine and have not found this undermines my credability as a scientist. My love of pink and purple stationary did become a running joke when working in a group of men, but I never felt they perceived me as less capable for it. And I think most female scientists and engineers have a sense of humour about it – there are whole industries around pink protective clothing and “geek chic” jewellery.
But do I think it is inspiring – probably not. It is a shame to see money spent on something like this instead of strategeies that do work to attract and retain women in science and engineering; job stability instead of being at the mercy of the grant cycle, family friendly workplace policies, alternatives to the “publish or perish” model of promotion that punishes women for taking career breaks to raise children, availability of female-friendly safety equipment …
I think most of all this misses the point that SCIENCE IS INSPIRING and doesn’t need to be dressed up with glitter and high heels. I am involved in a program called Scientists in Schools (http://www.scientistsinschools.edu.au/), which pairs working scientists with teachers and their classes to give them a real insight into science and scientists. It is something I encourage all scientists to get involved in – kids are amazed by the science we do every day. I fell pretty confident that the visit to my lab that some of my students made this week got them a whole lot more excited about a career in science than this video!
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Well someone has to create the make up girls wear
Seriously though, not sure that would’ve convinced me to study Science. I did study science at uni (Applied Chem), but chose not to pursue that career path due to a number of reasons. I think that any girl choosing science because of that video would be disappointed of what they found in uni. Just reminds me of the girls who kept worrying more about fixing up there nail polish in the lab than actually doing the work.
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Sexist!
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Oh dear.
I’m an attractive blonde female scientist. The great thing about science is that this doesn’t matter.
PhDs are more important than GHDs.
What matters is what’s between my ears, not what earrings I’m wearing.
Your stilettoed foot won’t look so stylish when you drop a bottle of HCL on it.
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Oh I really don’t get it. I love science, but this does not make me want to study it at all. And since when does it have to focus on make up/clothes/heels/blah blah blah for it to be a thing girls can do?
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I don’t know about insulting, but definitely silly and counterproductive.
Great timing, too. There’s just been a British study published recently showing that attempts to counter supposed stereotypes of women in science actually put off the girls who are most interested in pursuing science topics and/or a career. Good going. Meanwhile, we reinforce the idea that women should look like supermodels and act like a Kardashian 24/7
Maybe the science-oriented girls think, sheesh, even here where we’re pushing the boundaries of new knowledge and understandings of the world we can’t get away without having to spend hours styling our hair, faces, bodies… not to mention the fecking high heels. As a memory researcher, I know I’m rocking a 4 inch pair of manolos to my lab every day. not.
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That video just made me want to give up my social life, move home with my mother, live off my meagre savings and study engineering for 12 hours a day for four years. I am now inspired.
Thank goodness I am also intelligent enough to have figured out that I am also almost guaranteed a job in an industry where woman seem to be sought after and valued and there is enough diversity that I can choose my specialty.
Being under represented in engineering seems to be a lack of supply rather than a lack of employment opportunities. Hello? I feel a better video coming on.
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insulting.
i think big bang theory does a better job of showing women as scientists. bernadette and amy are awesome characters.
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I actually think that, as a 15 year old, this would have encouraged me to go into science. As a Year 10 student with very good marks, I was looking for a challenging yet also glamorous career. I wanted to wear lipstick and heels and be sexy. I did not want to be stuck in a lab like a huge big nerd. (My teenager self was a little immature).
I ended up in science anyway, eventually, and am building a career around science communications. While I understand why people hate this clip, I think that it kinda serves its purpose in a weird way.
Wasn’t anyone else obsessed with glamour, high heels and lipstick at 15? Or was it just me?
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Agree. I was good at science and enjoyed it and was also good at art. I went on to do fashion design because it seemed glamorous to my young silly mind. Nothing wrong with design but now I know myself better, i should have done sciences.
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Its insulting.
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Inspiring or insulting? Ummm … neither? A huge waste of money by the European Commission, possibly. Really, though, I’m not the target market. I did my BSc in the early 90′s, and while this ad wouldn’t have drawn me to science, it wouldn’t have put me off, either. Maybe this ad is just intended to plant a seed. This ad is aimed at girls, not women, girls who have yet to decide on a career, or even a field. Does anyone remember what it was like to be 15? Or at least, remember what most of our peers were like? Let’s face it, the idea of high heels and haute couture is more fleetingly appealing at that age than sensible shoes and a lab-coat (if you’ll pardon the generalisation), And following that fleeting impression immediately after watching the ad, it probably won’t get any further conscious thought. No more than any ‘advice’ teens are given by adults in any form. So perhaps the ‘seed’ of “I can be a sexy lady scientist” might germinate in a couple of kids, removing some of the stigma of being a woman-in-science.
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It’s a bit of a “piss-take” on make-up & clothing ads aimed at really bright people who might be interested in science as a career…….it’s satire and the real “dum dums” won’t get it……..perhaps they’ll think that “Science” is a new brand of perfume ?………ha, ha,
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Back in the early 90s Ashley from the Young and The Restless would go to work in her lab – in lab coat. She was a chemist and developed cosmetics, although we usually just saw her applying lipstick while talking to some hot love interest who had just dropped by…
This is a long lasting issue- I would have thought there was some progress in female engineers now? I know a few. Also, I would guess that biology and enviro science would have equal representation of males and females- if not more females.
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Ooh article needs subbing. *underemployed and *fewer and fewer. I’m not a major stickler but two errors in the intro sentence is a worry. As for the video, is it telling me I can be into science and be a stripper at the same time? Something tells me that the girls who would be high performers in science are going to find this video really insulting to their intelligence. I was a biology ace in high school and not into heels, lipstick or nail polish at all (that came later). I would have been horrified by this at 15.
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Or even *underrepresented. I didn’t think that through. You can tell I left journalism before hitting the subs’ table!
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less vs fewer is a myth. See here for a funny explanation: http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-commonly-corrected-grammar-errors-that-arent-mistakes/
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I have now put this website on my favourites.
I literally laughed till I cried.
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It’s a good one! I especially like that I can add ‘dongtacularly’ to my vocab now.
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Um, actually, to my mind, “fewer and fewer” is grammatically incorrect – it just doesn’t make sense in the context above (change the words, read it out loud to yourself, and you’ll see). “Less and less” works – it’s not an error.
Agree about “underemployed”
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So, instead of complaining about a silly video, can anyone tell me why women aren’t choosing engineering as a vocation? Girls are doing very well at high school in maths and science, yet they only 5% of engineering students are female. What is the reason for this?
Engineering desperately needs more people, we are currently short by about 15% across the country, and it’s only going to get worse. The pay is good, career advancement is good, and you’ll never be unemployed. My job is unbelievably diverse, no two days are ever the same and it gives an enormous amount of satisfaction.
So how about it? Why not encourage your daughters to become engineers?
So why not do engineering?
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If what my engineering friends tell me is anything to go by, it’s because it’s a male-dominated field where women have to deal with endless boorish comments from other engineers, construction workers and the host of men involved in the fields associated with the engineering field who think it’s their right to treat the rare females like a side of meat or a bimbo. The industry has a cultural problem that doesn’t appeal to women who would like to be treated with respect and dignity and promoted on their professional merits.
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Yep, professional engineers just treat women as a side of meat. Ffs, where do you get such ridiculous generalisations from. Such generalisations about women a called for what they are, sexist drivel, and your comments should be called the same.
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Umm have you ever been a woman on a construction site WB?? I assure you that that attitude is very prevalent! I’m pretty sure most women who’ve worked on construction sites (as I have) will agree. It’s just the nature of that particular beast.
Plus, she was repeating what her friend in the industry had experienced – how can you argue with one individuals own experience?
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You show me where that attitude prevails on my project and I’ll sack the guys responsible.
It’s a no brainer, that sort of crap cannot continue and must be stopped.
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Your ignorance is exceeded only by your stupidity.
If those things happened in the company that I worked for the men would be sacked on the spot, and we’d deal with the ramifications of thew unions tomorrow. The Unions wouldn’t mnake a song and dance out of it either.
Most of the engineers that I know are not the way you describe at all, and a damn sight more trustworthy than the average lawyer.
Your comments are despicable and offensive to every Engineer in the country.
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And not all engineers work on construction sites. Plenty of office jobs!
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I completed both a science and an engineering degree. I have worked as an engineer at a large multinational company both on site and in the office for the last 5 years. I am a strong, capable and confident woman so I have dealt with the barrage of sexist insults rather well. The insults themselves aren’t the problem, it’s the assumption that you have no brain that is hard to deal with. All but one of the women I have met in engineering have been determined to show their colleagues how they are not only intelligent but also have great management and communication skills. Unfortunately this has only led to them become more of a target as they are then perceived as a threat. This happened to me a lot and I would often be directly challenged by management for ‘making them look bad’ when really I was doing the opposite. I was often being accused of trying to take their job, when all I was doing was performing my job to the best of my ability.
It was also immensely frustrating to know I was being paid less then the guy next to me (I had proof). He was less experienced than I was and delivered mediocre results. However he was seen as a future shareholder while management asked if I was pregnant yet. Pregnancy = death to engineering career.
So unless you enjoy working extremely hard for less pay than your male counterparts whilst being written off due to your ability to procreate then I would not recommend becoming an engineer.
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A close gf had disgusting sexual drawings drawn about her all over the site. When she complained it turned into abusive, cruel stuff rather than just sexual harrassment. They couldn’t fire the whole team, so she just had to deal with it.
Anon, I’m glad your projects aren’t like that – if only you were running every project!
And for the record, my bf is an engineer and is divine – so I have no issues with engineers. My sexist experiences have been with the onsite guys.
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Ok, I have to tell you this funny little story about how abunch of big, tough construction workers can be real sooky boys.
About 15 years ago I was running a project west of townsville. I had about 30 guys on site and they had set up a lean to for smoko and lunch between two containers with some shadecloth. It caught a bit of breeze and they didn’t like sitting in the airconditioning.
On the walls of the containers the boys had plastered nude pictures that were quite graphic. We don’t allow it now but back then it was still ok in an all male environment. Certainly the pics were more than tits and bums.
Then we had a new starter. Our concrete tester turned out to be a lovely young lady who was a tough as nails country girl. She got on well with the guys and gave as good as she got.
After she’d been on site for a couple of weeks she approached me and asked if she could put her own pics on the wall. I thought about it for a second and decided that it wasa fair request, as she was just as entitled to look at what ever she wanted to.
So the next day she hangs an almost life size pick of a black man with a dick on him like an elephant’s trunk. I thought it funny but I admit to not even thinking about how the guys would react.
The reaction was swift. At smoko thaat morning the guys (all of them) came marching to my office asking why they had to put up with pictures like that. My response was to tell them that if they wanted to look at naked women, then the women could look at naked men.
So the choice was easy, All of the pictures stay, or all of them go.
To my disappointment the guys, by the end of smoko that morning, had removed every pic from the walls of the containers.
I thought it hilarious. What a pack of sooky boys!!
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Oh, you mean there’s a branch of science just for women, with heels and pink and make-up? Thank the lord, there’s hope for our daughters! Now that we know it’s not just old men and nerds ad lab coats and ACTUAL SCIENCE, and that it now involves a montage involving iron filings and neon signs depicting hydrogen, a career in science may actually be bearable for us poor, vapid women.
Seriously?
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I suspect that the only good thing about this is the awesome memes we are about to see paying the shit out of it.
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Ha! Exactly! LOL
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Gawd, how massively patronising! There was no science in that video
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I’ve just graduated from a science degree and that video has nothing to do with anything!! what the hell do high heels and lipstick have to do with science. That video did not represent the huge and vast industry of science and research. They didn’t even show the women actually doing anything other than standing around in high heels giggling, there was nothing inspiring or interesting in that video to encourage women into sciences! Science may not be all old men in white coats but in a lab it’s not peep toe heels and sexy outfits either. OH&S requires you to wear protective clothing and appropriate footwear like enclosed shoes and a lab coat. I’m telling you now you do not want to be teetering around on platforms while carrying around dangerous and toxic material surrounded by glassware. I think they’re insulting womens intelligence by trying to lure us in with lipstick and fashion
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They’ve just stuck some footage of a group of women next to some footage of “science-y stuff”. Why didn’t they show them doing something?
I was interested in science because the research was interesting not because it was “sexy”. I think it’s better to show what science is, and what it can do as a way of getting people interested.
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This video is silly and in no way would have encouraged me to pursue a science based career.
I was 22 years old when I gained my my Bachelor of Applied Science (major in Environmental Resource Management) back in 2001. I had a passion for the environment from all the camping and bush walking I did growing up. I was a kid who always asked “‘why?” and found science provided a lot of the answers I sought.
Good science teachers fostering a love of learning during school will help to encourage females to pursue tertiary science qualifications not a silly video clip.
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While I am in this thread, why dont we ever see campaigns to even up gender in vocations traditionally dominated by women. Surely you cant address one side without the other. My vote is for more male teachers as a starting point.
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And what about more straight men in PR? It’s a desert out here!
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Men can see that it is not possible to provide for a family on a teacher’s income alone.
It needs supplementing. So for the few years that a potential partner may wish to take time out to raise kids, their partner … can’t.
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There have been incentives for more male teachers previously (Dept paying fees and stuff, scholarships), I don’t recall seeing any lately though.
In my recent experience, having the male teachers around was great for stuff like sport, but I can’t help but feel that they got lumped with running it because they are guys too. I was really happy to find blokes at a few of the day care centres I went to putting our names down – I think they should be encouraged in all teaching, and especially in early years/primary.
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I think you mean ‘under represented’, not ‘unemployed’.
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