Friday, February 11th is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The objective of this UN-sponsored day of awareness is to move towards “full and equal access and participation for women and girls in science”. A significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world.
Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields. It’s long been recognised that having role models to act as examples of what can be achieved is a key factor in encouraging girls, and boys, to take up careers in STEM subjects.
Star Trek has been credited as an influence by many NASA astronauts in their choice of careers. One of the main people in this was of course Nichelle Nichols, whose opportunity to play Uhura came at a time when most female roles in Science Fiction were restricted to running, pointing and screaming.
As communications officer, it could be argued that she was effectively the telephone exchange girl, but she was a woman with a prominent technical role, and moreover a woman from an ethnic minority. When NASA was developing the Space Shuttle in the 1970s, it needed to recruit a new group of astronauts and was encouraging women and minorities to join the programme.
The Agency hired Nichols to take part in the film made to promote a career in NASA to women. She has remained a supporter of NASA, working with the Traveling Space Museum, an organisation that partners with US schools to promote space studies in 2010.
Many of the ship’s captains who appeared in guest roles in both the films and later series have been female. From the unnamed captain of the USS Saratoga in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, to Kassidy Yates in Deep Space Nine, there have been many strong female leadership roles throughout the franchise. Interestingly, given the notice taken of Michael Burnham’s elevation to Captain of Discovery, a high proportion have also been black.
While The Next Generation’s principal female characters, Troi, and Crusher, were cast in “caring” professions, they were both shown in command roles. In the episode, “Thine Own Self” Troi is seen taking the Bridge Officer’s test and working through the required engineering qualification. Another female TNG character, Tasha Yar, while not in a STEM profession is shown as a chief security officer, a job often looked at as more “male”.
In Deep Space Nine, Kira Nerys is another strong female role model. Nana Visitor has said that she knew this was a character for her because she couldn’t tell just by reading if the character was male or female. The character was equal in many technical disciplines of the Starfleet crew, as well as carrying out diplomatic and command duties.
One of Kira’s key relationships on the station was with Jadzia Dax. This was the first time that a female character had been the leading science and engineering voice in a Star Trek show. The writers point out in several episodes that the scientific expertise is very much part of Jadzia. With degrees in “exoarchaeology, exobiology and zoology” earned prior to being joined with the Dax symbiont.
The next host for Dax, Ezri is far more influenced by the symbiont’s personality This did give the show the opportunity to explore the inherently non-binary nature of the character, with Ezri saying: “I’m still sorting out my pronouns” in the episode ‘Prodigal Daughter’.
Star Trek: Voyager had a wealth of female role models, from Captain Janeway, a career science officer before taking command of Voyager, to B’Elanna Torres, chief engineer and the equal of Scotty in her ability to save the ship from disaster.
However, the most interesting female character from the point of view of her influence on girls in looking to live in a science-led environment was Naomi Wildman. She never behaved like “just a kid”, probably part of growing up in an adult dominated world, but took every opportunity to learn, and her on-screen relationship with Seven of Nine is one of the most endearing in any of the series.
Which makes Seven of Nine a slightly disappointing character. Her role in the series was far more based on her personal development away from the Borg than her technical skills. In dramatic terms, it’s clear that the engineering and science role was filled by Torres, but so much more could have been done with Seven of Nine.
The other series with a set of strong role models for girls and women interested in STEM subjects is Discovery. As well as two female captains in Georgiou and Burnham much of the harder scientific part of the story is shown with female characters in prominent positions.
Burnham herself of course but also in the first three seasons Sylvia Tilly. The joy she finds in maths and science is unique in Star Trek, and there are few parallels to her in other shows. While not specifically stated to be on the Autism spectrum she exhibits many of the traits that you might expect in someone who is.
We have come a long way in the portrayal of women from Seven of Nine’s catsuits to Tilly. The use of her surname explained with much of her back story in Una McCormack’s excellent book “The Way to the Stars”, takes away the emphasis on her gender and keeps her technical expertise front and centre of her character. She is a very relatable character and her maturing over the 4 seasons of the show have been an excellent example of a female character growing into her position on the ship as a critical person of value in both engineering and command roles.
So, why are these role models important? The actor Geena Davis put it well, “if she can see it, she can be it.” The media has a crucial job to do in influencing young minds in career choices. In the nineties, Gillian Anderson’s role on The X-Files famously inspired an entire generation of female scientists to don their lab coats.
This phenomenon has even been given its own name: the “Scully Effect.” Star Trek as the leading hard science fiction show for so many years is also a touchstone for many women. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti sent a tribute to Leonard Nimoy while on the International Space Station and has been vocal in her assertion that her love of Star Trek took her into space.
Dr Erin Macdonald an Astrophysicist and leading science communicator credits, Scully and Janeway as the inspiration for her pursuit of a science career. She is also now a science consultant to Star Trek.
With the International Day of Women and Girls in Science upon us again it is worth looking at Star Trek with a new eye and be thinking about how we can use an interest in these stories to help plant the seeds for the next generation of female scientists, engineers and communicators.
