Technology

More than 75 TEDTalks showing women in science and tech

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g032MPrSjFA

“Science: It’s a Girl Thing!” That’s what is claimed in a goofy public service announcement, made by the European Commission, which aims to convince young women that science careers are in fact “cool.” Naturally, for a few days the Twittersphere has been atwitter over the very pink ad, which instead shows that girls can simultaneously do science and appear in an ’80s music video … ?

Today on Boingboing, Maggie Koerth-Baker has posted a great response to the ad, in the form of an interview with Dr. Margo Seltzer, a computer scientist at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In the interview, Seltzer says that she does think the public image of “scientists” as male affects young girls’ desire to join the ranks.

“As a society we’ve done a really, really bad job of marketing what it means to be in software,” Seltzer says. “If you ask somebody, ‘What does a computer programmer look like?’ I think almost everyone in the world will give you the same description — it’s a nerdy guy with no social skills.”

Not. True. If you’re looking for images of female software designers, or female scientists more generally, browse these TEDTalks from 70+ physicists, biologists, science writers, psychologists, engineers, doctors, technologists, oceanographers, roboticists, even an astronaut. Just click around the text block below …

Diane KellyMelissa GarrenTali SharotChristina WarinnerRegina DuganNoel Bairey Merz … Quyen NguyenSheila NirenbergThe three teenagers who won the Google Science Fair last yearMichelle BorkinCheryl HayashiCynthia KenyonJen PahlkaErica FrenkelLisa HarouniAnna Mracek DietrichAngela BelcherSusan LimCynthia BreazealNalini Nadkarni againJane McGonigalCat LainéJanine Benyus againCatherine MohrCarolyn Porco againPattie MaesSusan Savage-RumbaughElizabeth MurchisonDyan deNapoliJessica GreenNina TandonEdith WidderEdith Widder againAnnmarie ThomasIsabel BehnckeJanna LevinPatricia KuhlHawa Abdi and Deqo MohamedAriel GartenHeather KnightDeborah RhodesBarbara BlockJessa GambleLaurie SantosAditi ShankardassDee BoersmaJuliana Machado FerreiraTemple GrandinAndrea GhezRachel PikeRachel ArmstrongRebecca SaxeNina JablonskiMary RoachCarolyn PorcoMae JemisonMargaret WertheimBonnie BasslerNalini NadkaniJill TarterSylvia EarlePenelope BostonJane GoodallJane Goodall againPatricia BurchatLouise LeakeyHelen FisherHelen Fisher againJill Bolte TaylorDeborah GordonTierney ThysJanine BenyusEva VertesSheila Patek