Sitting in my high school math class, staring at a problem that I cannot seem to understand, a thought floats from the back of my mind that I’ve heard time and time again: “Science and math isn’t for me.”
This seemed to be a running theme for me. As a young girl, teachers were quick to guide me to writing, reading and art. I watched as my disdain for science grew stronger and my fear of complicated math compounded on itself. As far back as I can remember, my creative brain was encouraged and my scientific brain was tucked away.
It wasn’t until I went to college and stumbled into an introductory chemistry course that I even seriously considered I was capable of handling the challenges born from a career in science. I graduated with a degree in chemistry and a minor in biology, but I took math classes all the way through Calculus III. Turns out – I love upper level math and I’m pretty good at it.
As anyone who is even remotely plugged in to the realm of science can tell you, the textbooks are filled with interesting stories about scientists who solved baffling puzzles and changed the canon of knowledge forever. But most of the featured scientists, in some textbooks it’s all of them, are men. More specifically, older, European men.
For years we have been studying why scientific fields are dominated by men. According to statistics from the National Science Foundation, approximately 4 million men held careers in science and engineering in 2013 – about 2.5 times more than women. Clearly, women are interested in science and want to be involved in this field.
So, why aren’t young girls encouraged into science? The answer could be as simple as they don’t have anyone to admire.
That’s not to say young girls cannot aspire after the careers of famous male scientists. But a young girl who is interested in science is not often told that women have made revolutionary contributions to the fields of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology – Emmy Noether, Ada Lovelace, Mary Somerville, Caroline Herschel – the list could go on and on. Once we are exposed to this information, the narrative can change from “science and math isn’t for me” to “science and math were pioneered by people like me.”
Untold Stories of Science 