Los Angeles tech and applications public relations firm PMBC Group’s client USC Viterbi School of Engineering was recently featured on The Chronicle of Higher Education emphasizing the impact of media and its influence in shaping career paths and goals of youth.
Media can prove to be a strong influence in career choices, as Madelyn Caltabiano became a scientist partly due to a Tang commercial that portrayed a woman with a successful career in science. Unfortunately our present-day media does not typically promote women to pursue careers in S.T.E.M. Most women are moved to pursue careers that surround English and History or to not pursue an education at all. The youth certainly needs direction and seeing other women passionate about S.T.E.M. is an inspiration for young girls.
Currently, we are in era where people recognize the potential for women to become more than housewives. USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s ‘The Next MacGyver”’ competition hopes to play a role in inspiring more women to enter the field of engineering and to bridge the noticeable gender gap in this industry. Nearly 2,000 concepts were submitted for a TV show that would feature a strong, female engineer lead. On July 28th judges picked 5 finalists who were then paired with Hollywood producers to work on their storylines highlighting a female heroine to inspire similarly to how the Tang commercial and MacGyver originally did.
To read the full article click HERE.