![]() ![]() Another lesson is that people may be different than you or your core ideology but take just as much pride in our great country.Ĭhoices and Focus. One lesson is that different perspectives bring fresh ideas and approaches to problems. One scene in the movie showed the pride of every person, irrespective of their race or gender, when John Glenn was attempting to become the first American to orbit the Earth. ![]() What advances did we miss? Hidden Figures also made me wonder how many other great ideas or advances that could benefit society were missed out on because a large percentage of the country's brightest minds were not free to share and engage in science, business and policy during the time of segregation. This is why mentorship and exposing kids to broader groups of scientists is so important. It was simply related to the inertia of what some perceive a "scientist" to look like. ![]() In these instances, I honestly don't believe there was ill-intent. The point is that assumptions were made because of the lack of representativeness of some groups in science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM). They are vital and admirable careers that provide a living for my family's upbringing and others so please don't miss my point here. Much of my family worked for years (and still does) in the service industry. I was with a group of colleagues in a hotel lobby but only I was asked if I was the airport shuttle driver. Something similar happened during my tenure as President of the American Meteorological Society, the largest U.S. He actually wanted to share a picture (below). I finally shared a joke about it with a staffer. I suppose it was because I was in a suit (although I did have a conference badge on that said "speaker"). The hotel staff was wearing red blazers that day. As I walked the conference hotel halls for only one day, I was asked four or five times if I was with the hotel staff or if I could help direct them somewhere. I have written previously in FORBES on why the numbers are lower. African-Americans have traditionally lagged in the science fields so there were not many at this particular conference. Last year, I was an invited speaker at one of the largest scientific conferences in the world. Both professions are equally admirable and important, but the point is simply that she was only assumed to be there in one capacity. I resonated strongly with a scene in the movie in which mathematician Katherine Johnson was assumed to be in the room to empty the trash rather than crunch numbers for NASA. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |