Science, It’s a Girl Thing!

As Women in Engineering week comes to a close at UW, it might be a good time to take a look at the role of girls and women in engineering and science fields not just at UW, but worldwide. Enrollment of girls in engineering is on the decline, and has been for the last decade. This is not particular to Canada alone as it mimics a worldwide trend regarding women and science. It has garnered the attention of university administrations and government agencies alike. The European Commission (EC), in particular, has recently begun a campaign titled “Science, it’s a Girl Thing!” aimed at encouraging young girls to develop an interest in science.

Unfortunately, the EC decided to kick-off the campaign with the release of a video that manages to demean women, scientists, girls and most of the general population. All of this in under 55 seconds. The video begins with a man, a “scientist” looking at a microscope in a lab coat, and is distracted as three young girls, dressed in miniskirts and high heels saunter in to the laboratory. What follows is 55 seconds of baffling images of the 3 girls dancing while makeup products and lab equipment flash against a bright pink background. By the end, the viewer is left puzzled as to what they are viewing. But an advertisement for a popular makeup/hair product would be a fair guess. That is, until the campaign title flashes on the screen at the end, “Science, it’s a Girl Thing!” complete with a tube of lipstick replacing the ‘i’ in science. Yes, you read that right. A tube of lipstick.

The video is demeaning and sexist on so many levels it’s hard to decide where to begin. “Science will only be interesting to girls if they can relate it to makeup. Scientists can look pretty too! Science and makeup belong together!” They might as well have yelled out these ideas from rooftops. In fact, the reaction to the video was so strong that the European Commission took the video down the next day. Even the YouTube community was united in their distaste for the video. A united YouTube community is a rare sight indeed and the fact that this video managed to create one is only a small indication of the rampant sexism in the video.

The worst part however, is not the video itself. Sexism and misogyny is omnipresent in society especially in advertisements. As previously stated, the video resembles most commercials for hair and makeup products. But this wasn’t a video for a makeup product. It wasn’t made by a company that relies on sexism as an advertising strategy and in order to increase their profit margin. This was a video made by a government organization, in the interests of the public. 102 000 euros (of taxpayer money) was spent in making the video. It is meant to promote science and education. Yes, the video is meant to promote education.

So what happened? How did the EC make such a massive miscalculation in their efforts? Who is in charge of this campaign? How did they do their market research? How exactly did the EC come to the conclusion that making and releasing such a video would not only be a good idea, but that it would be an effective method to achieve their goal? What reaction did they expect people would have to this video? These questions will probably remain unanswered, because although the EC took down the video following public outcry they have so far refused to comment on it as well as on the public’s reaction. One can’t help but wonder if they are shocked at people’s reactions. Although everyone as a human being should find the video offensive, the two groups of people most demeaned by it are teenage girls and female scientists. Has the EC ever met anyone from these two groups of people? Although I haven’t fact checked this, I would bet good money that at least one member of the EC is probably related to a teenage girl somehow. Maybe that member was taking a sick day when they decided to produce this video. As for female scientists though, had they been interested in meeting one the EC would have needed to look no farther than the very government institution they belong to. The most powerful person in the European Union currently is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a woman who just happens to hold a Ph.D. in Physics. Yes, the most powerful woman in the world, the head of the European Union, also happens to be a scientist. One can’t help but wish that Merkel had been involved in the EC’s campaign in some way. Surely she would not have allowed this video to be produced. Sadly, this was not the case.

The worst part of the video is that it may have ruined what could have been a great campaign for young girls. The campaign website has some great profiles of real women in science that would peak the interest of any young woman considering a career in science. Unfortunately, after watching the 55 second clip, one does not feel at all inspired to follow the link to the website.

The lack of women in science is a serious problem, one that does need to be addressed by governments. Although the EC have made a massive misstep that has only done more harm than good, it is heartening to see a government organization attempting to solve this daunting problem. The video has been removed and hopefully someone in the EC is working to figure out how they made such a massive miscalculation. But perhaps the rest of the campaign can be salvaged and successful. If only they would remove the tube of lipstick from their logo.