7 social media trends that show us what it’s like to be a woman in STEM

Article originally published 9 March 2022

It's a well known fact that women are underrepresented in STEM.

For instance, women make up only 17% of the UK's engineering and technology workforce.

If you're considering studying a STEM course, or pursuing an apprenticeship in one of those fields, that figure could give you pause.

Don't let it. 

Across the world, women aren't just making it into STEM careers – they're thriving in them.

To demonstrate, we've taken to social media and found seven TikTok trends that offer a glimpse at what your future life could look like if you choose this path.

1. 'Girls, come on! Leave designing the world to the men? I don’t think so. I don’t think so…'

@abby_maltese Nope👍🏼 #womeninstem #femaleengineers #femaleengineer #aerospaceengineering #aerospace #engineering #engineeringstudent ♬ original sound - edits

This audio features the line above, followed by M.I.A.’s song, Bad Girls (‘live fast, die young, bad girls do it well…’).

In the captions, content creators usually swap out the word ‘designing’ for their specific subject and/or profession. For instance: ‘Girls, come on! Leave the engineering to the men?’

The women in these TikToks will mouth the words before launching into a montage of their work in STEM, normally featuring some the highlights of their career and achievements that they are proud of.

It’s a great way to celebrate their hard work and acknowledge that success is achievable for anyone who wants to pursue STEM, regardless of gender.

2. 'You are Elastigirl! Pull yourself together!'

@typehouse representation matters ‼️ #computerscience #csmajor #coding #womeninstem ♬ Pull Yourself Together - H

Captions for this type of TikTok can often reveal some stark realities about STEM. In the above example, the young woman reveals she’s the only girl in her computer science class.

She uses this fact as a motivation to keep working hard, even when she gets tired of coding.

Everyone gets tired at some point, regardless of what profession you’re in. But it’s important to remember that your presence in an industry can be ground-breaking and an inspiration to those who'll follow you.

These clips use an audio from the movie The Incredibles (2004), where Edna Mode, the fashion designer for superheroes, gives Elastigirl a pep talk to remind her that she’s a superhero in her own right.

3. 'Remember who you are, STEM girl'

@eve.hella remember who you are, stem girl. i mostly lean towards math and science, but engineering and technology are cool too obv!! #stem #womeninstem #edit #strongwoman #trend ♬ alkuperäinen ääni - eve 💓

This nostalgia-laden trend has been making the rounds to remind people not just of who they are, but where they're headed.

Videos can be about any passion or hobby you might have that perhaps you abandoned along the way, encouraging you to pick up where you left off, or simply, to keep going.

Our choice for this blog is a pep talk for STEM girls everywhere, featuring a montage of female mathematicians, scientists and engineers that have had an undeniable impact in their respective fields.

Played to the tune of Freakin' Out by Dexter & The Moonrocks, it has one simple instruction: 'remember who you are, STEM girl'.

4. The ‘I created it’ reveal

@alanabalagot #softwareengineering #womeninstem #mansplaining #humor ♬ Enter Kofi - The Slayer

These female content creators tell anecdotes of ‘mansplaining’ (where a man assumes they don’t know something and decides to explain it to them in a condescending way).

These clips use background music that slowly builds to a guitar riff, which accentuate the reveal that these women created the systems/methods these men are trying to explain to them!

Yet another example of why it's best not to assume.

5. 'Mama said that it was OK, mama said it was quite alright'

@youcancallmekait #greenscreen You try telling her that! 😅 #engineering #womeninstem #dreambig We ❤️ @engineerleen ♬ Mama Said - Lukas Graham

These TikToks usually feature before and after photos or video footage of the content creators – from when they were children and then from adulthood.

Some examples feature a quote, something that the creators could have sadly heard while growing up: “Little girls can’t grow up to be engineers”.

These quotes are juxtaposed with the audio, ‘Mama said that it was OK, mama said that it was quite alright,’ from Lukas Graham’s song ‘Mama Said’.

This reveals that these little girls grew up to become successful engineers, perhaps due to the support and encouragement of their parents, particularly their mothers.

6. 'YOU got into Harvard law?' 'What? Like it's hard?'

@eve.hella remember who you are, stem girl. i mostly lean towards math and science, but engineering and technology are cool too obv!! #stem #womeninstem #edit #strongwoman #trend ♬ alkuperäinen ääni - eve 💓

Many of us will immediately recognise the line from 2001 film, Legally Blonde, that features in this trend.

Protagonist Elle Woods has started studying law at Harvard, when she runs into ex-boyfriend Warner, who can't believe she got into the course.

Elle's response couldn't be more iconic: "What? Like it's hard?"

Content creators have adapted the line to suit their story, in this case "YOU... are a civil engineer?", before jumping into a highlight reel of their careers in these professions.

They've even remixed it to the song Diva by Beyonce, another icon.

7. Sharing struggles

@hannahswor1d yikes #womeninstem #engineering ♬ All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) - Taylor Swift

This last one isn’t a specific style of TikTok, it's more just something people do on the platform quite generally.

Sharing one’s struggles helps people relate to one another and offer support, so that they know they’re not alone.

This example shows how easily women get disregarded in STEM.

Something as simple as ignoring someone’s name in an email, or including it in as an add-on, rather than an essential, could perhaps be considered a microaggression.

Details matter! 

Do you know of any other TikTok trends that you’d add to our list? Let us know!