50 Years of Children Drawing Scientists
When girls don鈥檛 see women as scientists, they may not see their future selves as scientists, either鈥攂ut teachers can make a difference.
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When boys and girls were asked to draw a scientist in a study several decades ago, the results revealed a stunning bias: 99.4 percent of the drawings depicted a male scientist. Out of 5,000 drawings collected between 1966 and 1977, only 28 were of female scientists, all of which were drawn by girls.
Since then, nearly 80 studies have repeated this experiment with over 20,000 students across all grade levels, and the results of all these studies were reviewed聽in a published last year.
3 Key Findings of the Meta-Analysis
1. Children are drawing female scientists more often: In the original 11-year study, less than 1 percent of the drawings collected from boys and girls were of female scientists. That number rose over the decades, reaching 鈥�28 percent on average in later studies,鈥� according to the meta-analysis.
2. Girls are driving the shift: Girls in particular began to draw female scientists more often. Only 1.2 percent of girls drew scientists as female in the original study, a figure that rose to 33 percent in 1985 and then to 58 percent in 2016鈥攙astly outpacing boys, who still draw male scientists nearly nine of out 10 times.
3. As students get older, more of them tend to draw male scientists: In kindergarten, children draw roughly the same number of male and female scientists鈥攇irls tend to draw more female scientists while boys tend to draw more male ones. But by the time they鈥檙e in high school, students鈥攎ales and females combined鈥攄raw four times as many male scientists as female ones.聽The shift is more pronounced for girls: When asked to draw a scientist, 70 percent of 6-year-old girls draw a woman, while only 25 percent聽of 16-year-old girls do.
The overall changes聽in how children portray scientists aligns with larger trends in women joining science-related occupations. Data from the shows that in 2015, women made up 48 percent of biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists, up from 34 percent in 1993. Women in all science and engineering occupations increased more modestly, from 22.9 percent in 1993 to 28.4 percent in 2015.
Teachers play an important role in encouraging children鈥攇irls in particular鈥攖o pursue an interest in science. David Miller and his colleagues on the meta-analysis point out that 鈥済irls may avoid activities that they consider appropriate for boys but not girls,鈥� and everything from the language a teacher uses to the decorations on classroom walls may give students subtle messages about the roles of men and women in science.
Why is this important? Because 鈥渟tereotypes linking science with men might limit girls鈥� interests in science-related activities and careers,鈥� the researchers contend. When girls don鈥檛 see women as scientists, it鈥檚 more likely that they won鈥檛 see their future selves as scientists, either.
6 Tips for Promoting a Sense of Inclusion in the Sciences
1. Use diverse posters and other classroom decorations: A found that a classroom鈥檚 symbolic features鈥攕uch as images of scientists displayed on the walls鈥攖ell students 鈥渨hether they are valued learners and belong within the classroom.鈥� When students don鈥檛 see themselves represented in classroom materials, this can have 鈥渇ar-reaching consequences鈥� for the choices they make in school, such as whether to take advanced science courses. Decorations should represent students of diverse genders, backgrounds, and interests.
2. Promote books that highlight girls and women: Children鈥檚 science books depict male scientists three times as often as female ones, a found. Not only were women underrepresented, but their contributions were diminished鈥攂ooks often presented them in a way that that suggested they were 鈥減assive, lower status, and superficial.鈥� To combat this, teachers can intentionally share books that feature inspiring girls and women in science.
3. Invite guest speakers and role models: Girls with a role model are more likely to be interested in, and pursue, a career in science, a found. Teachers can invite female scientists to speak to their students or , or ask students to interview scientists in their community.
4. Be mindful of gender bias in language: The words we use can reinforce gender stereotypes, a found. For example, referring to boys as 鈥渇uture scientists鈥� while calling girls 鈥渇uture female scientists鈥� can reduce girls鈥� sense that science is an appropriate profession for them. And a on makerspaces found that instructors tended to use terms like 鈥済eeks,鈥� 鈥渂uilders,鈥� and 鈥渄esigners鈥� for male students while calling female students 鈥済irls鈥� or 鈥渉elpers.鈥� Such language 鈥渟haped attitudes and activities within the makerspaces,鈥� making it less likely that girls would hold leadership positions while allowing boys to have a larger role in steering group decisions.
5. Encourage a growth mindset: Girls as young as 6 years old are willing to put more boys than girls in the category 鈥渞eally, really smart鈥� and avoid activities that they perceive as being for smart kids, a found. To combat this, teachers can emphasize that intelligence isn鈥檛 fixed and that all students have the capability to develop their abilities. As an activity, students can explore how the challenges prevailing stereotypes about boys and girls.
6. Avoid anxiety transfer: Teachers may inadvertently transfer their own math anxiety to their students, a cautioned. When they do so, they send the message that 鈥渘ot everyone can be good at math.鈥� Girls, in particular, are susceptible to a teacher鈥檚 math anxiety, according to a . The more anxiety teachers felt toward math, the more likely girls were to believe that 鈥渂oys are good at math, and girls are good at reading,鈥� and to have lower math achievement. High expectations paired with instructional strategies that emphasized learning instead of memorization and ability helped students develop a more positive attitude toward math.