The concern about the inclusion of women in STEM careers (an acronym in English for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is increasing. As a result, in recent years, various marketing campaigns have been created to engage women in science and attract them to the STEM world. Today, we want to introduce you to a series of marketing campaigns related to science and women.
STEM Women Marketing Campaign: No more Matildas
This campaign is carried out by the Association of Women Researchers and Technologists (AMIT). With it, they aim to highlight the role of women in science throughout history and denounce the Matilda effect. This effect refers to the discrimination experienced by women, denying their discoveries and work, attributing them to male research partners.
This campaign is aimed at younger girls. The marketing campaign seeks to increase the presence of women in STEM fields through adding more female scientists to school textbooks. If the “No more Matildas” marketing campaign can position female researchers as role models in science, it can influence the number of girls choosing scientific careers.
How do they do it?
To achieve this, the campaign proposes creating an annex to fifth-grade textbooks, discussing the most important women in science throughout history, including Spanish figures like Margarita Salas and Ángela Ruiz Robles. This is done in the fifth grade because it’s when students start learning about scientists and researchers.
You might wonder, why include this in textbooks? This stems from the fact that only 7.5% of high school textbooks feature women. Additionally, less than 30% of students in scientific fields are women worldwide. This situation is even more pronounced in Spain. Over the last 40 years, the presence of women in STEM careers in Spain has decreased. For example, the percentage of female enrollment in computer engineering dropped from 30% in the 1980s to 12% today.
As a result, the “No more Matildas” marketing campaign created three books with the aim of addressing questions like What if Albert Einstein, Alexander Fleming, or Erwin Schrödinger had been women? In response, the campaign has produced three books: Matilda Einstein, Matilda Fleming, and Matilda Schrödinger. These books depict how their lives might have been if they were women.
Campaign of marketing women STEM: Highlight The Remarkable
This campaign that has garnered so much attention was carried out by Stabilo. The campaign aims to highlight remarkable women. Two of them are in the field of science, and one in politics. They were chosen because history left them in the background, undervaluing their contributions and discoveries. In the campaign, you can see photographs where these women are highlighted with a highlighter, as it would be more challenging to notice them otherwise.
The Chosen Women
The campaign emphasizes Katherine Johnson, who was a NASA mathematician and was responsible for the challenging task of calculating the return of Apollo 11 to Earth.
This campaign also highlights the role played by Lise Meitner, an Austrian physicist who can be credited with being responsible for the discovery of nuclear fission.
Last but not least, the campaign aims to show the importance of Edith Wilson as the first female first lady in history to assume presidential functions following the death of her husband, the then-President of the United States.
Campaña de marketing mujeres STEM: Girl Algorithm
Seeing that finding women in science and technology is a challenging task even on the internet, the Girls 4 Tech program carries out the campaign known as Girl Algorithm.
This campaign, led by enthusiastic girls and boys passionate about science, urges Google to provide more visibility in their search results to women scientists. With the message of “more Marie Curie, more Nuria Oliver, more Valley, and less Silicon,” they aim to counter the shortage of female talent in the STEM field, in professional disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Without a doubt, these marketing campaigns will achieve their goal and increase the number of women in STEM professions. It is a challenge that we, as a society, must face by educating the younger generation about the importance of science. We must also give the deserved importance to the female role models that the STEM world has provided us throughout history.
If, like us, you are enthusiastic about marketing campaigns, do not hesitate to visit our post featuring the 10 best campaigns in history.
