https://athensscienceobserver.com/2017/07/08/what-does-a-scientist-look-like-2/
>The Stereotypical Scientist
If we perceive scientists as white men in lab coats, is that stereotype harmful? In some ways this stereotype in certain scientific fields is not that far from the truth. In 2012, 11.2% of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering and 4.1% of doctorate degrees in science and engineering were awarded to minority women. In 2013, 70% of workers in science and engineering occupations were white, while Hispanics, blacks, and American Indians/Alaska Natives made up only 11% of the science and engineering workforce. Female scientists and engineers are also concentrated in different occupations than men, with relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (62%) and biological life sciences (48%) and relatively low shares in engineering (15%) and computer and mathematical sciences (25%). However, while many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields appear to be teeming with white males, there ARE scientists out there who do not fit into that narrow mould. So, this stereotypical image of a scientist as a white man in a lab coat is not a true representation of who actually does science.
Representations of Scientists in the Classroom
Portraying low diversity in the sciences is particularly harmful because of its potential to quell student aspirations into STEM fields. While preparing for my first year as a middle school science teacher, I became acutely aware of this lack of diversity in my own mental images of scientists. Most scientists we discussed in school were white, straight men who looked nothing like my students (or myself for that matter). There was a disproportionately low number of scientists from underrepresented groups and backgrounds in my students’ textbooks, if at all…
