Women made society changing discoveries and advances during the Enlightenment and in every historical time period since then. Still, women's work in philosophy, science, and politics has been neglected or marginalized in history textbooks and curriculum frameworks; the most well-known STEM figures are men. Activities explore how influential women in STEM fields have been and are portrayed in the media and envision ways to encourage more girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
Women, whose work in philosophy, science, and politics have been neglected or minimized. Rarely do elementary, middle, or high school students learn about women like Margaret Hamilton who wrote the software for the 1969 Apollo Landing and invented the term "software engineer," Annie Easley, a Black rocket scientist whose work set the stage for space shuttle launches, Radia Perlman, the "mother of the Internet" who invented an algorithm for organizing and moving data, and many more women technology trailblazers.
There is a great lack of diversity in STEM fields. Just 3% of workers are Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or people who identify with 2 or more racial groups. Women earn more than half the bachelor's degree in health and life sciences, but far fewer in engineering and computer science (Pew Research Center, April 14, 2021).
How many of the following women trailblazers and change makers in math, science, and technology fields did you learn about in school?
Take a moment to learn about just one from the list: Ada Lovelace. She was the daughter of poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabelle Milbanke. She is considered the first computer programmer.
Ada Lovelace did not conform to traditional gender roles and expectations, focusing on mathematics and coding in a time when women were not taught math. She became a correspondent to mathematician Charles Babbage who was in the process of creating the plans for the Difference Machine, the world's first calculator. She created notes on the machine and its step sequences and those notes became the first computer "code."
Activity 2: Increase the Participation of Girls in STEM
Write a proposal for how your school can increase opportunities for success for girls in STEM.
Include changes in curriculum and courses that are needed to support girls in STEM
Include changes in school culture and climate that are needed to support girls in STEM.
Create a social media campaign to spread awareness about your proposal.
The social media campaign should include at least 2 videos (e.g., YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok), 5 example posts, and 3 images (e.g., memes, graphics, infographics) designed by you.
Activity 3: Revise an OER Science or Math Textbook to be More Gender Inclusive
Look at the efforts of British physicist Jessica Wade who has written more than 1700 Wikipedia biographies for little know female and minority scientists (Nice News, February 28, 2023).
Find an open educational resource (OER) math or science textbook from OpenStax, OASIS, OER Commons, or another resource.
Select a chapter or section that you would like to revise to be more gender inclusive.
Copy the text and media from that chapter into word document.
Revise the text and/or media to be more gender inclusive (e.g., to help girls see themselves in the text!).
Publish the new section or chapter with an OER license.
Activity 4: Analyze the Portrayals of Women in Science and Politics, Then and Now
Conduct Internet research to examine how women thinkers from the Enlightenment era are currently presented on websites and in various media (e.g., YouTube videos, TikToks).
How easy or difficult is it to find examples of women Enlightenment thinkers? What does this say about how women Enlightenment thinkers were perceived at the time?
Next, explore how influential women in science and politics are presented in the media and online today. What are the similarities and differences between the portrayals of women Enlightenment thinkers and women in science and politics today?
To wrap up, create a TikTok dance about a women Enlightenment thinker and their impact on present day society.
Explain the influence of Enlightenment thinkers on the American Revolution and the framework of American government (Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Studies) [8.T1.3]