What I'm about to share isn't actually recent news, but I just learned about it, so maybe you never heard of it either and I think it's worth knowing. In 2019 The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media published a study that looked into something that was anecdotally called "The Scully Effect," which was a theory that there was a notable increase in the number of women in the STEM fields due to (at least, in part) the impact of having watched The X Files and seeing the positive role model of a woman in science in the character of Dr. Dana Scully.
So, The Geena Davis Institute did the research to see just how much Dr. Scully influenced girls and women to focus on STEM in their schooling and careers. And it turns out that the theory holds water. Among 2,021 participants, nearly two-thirds (63%) of women who are familiar with Dana Scully say she increased their belief in the importance of STEM, and 50% of those same women say Scully increased their interest in STEM.
More specifically, Scully has influenced women who were medium/heavy viewers of The X-Files to consider working in STEM fields (43%), actually study STEM fields (27%), and work in STEM fields (24%).
So, first of all, I think this is super cool. I love data, and I love data that tells interesting stories, and I love data that tells interesting stories about women feeling confident to explore opportunities.
But I also think this tells us all about the importance of having positive role models. It's not just limited to STEM, of course. Seeing someone do what we want to do is the encouragement we need to know that it can be done. So, if you're considering a new path, whether it's professional, relationship, family role, hobby, etc. - find someone you see who's doing it (or something close to it) well and ask them to share their wisdom. More than likely, they'd love to share and you'll both benefit from it.
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