Representation shapes aspiration long before career decisions are made.
At the Geena Davis Institute’s Women in STEM Media Representation Symposium, industry leaders, researchers, scientists, and creators came together to confront a critical question: Why do girls continue to opt out of STEM when the evidence overwhelmingly shows they are just as capable of succeeding in it?
Held at the Writers Guild of America West in Los Angeles, the 2018 Global Symposium centered on the release of Portray Her: Representations of Women STEM Characters in Media, a landmark study examining how entertainment influences the way girls imagine science, engineering, and innovation. What made this gathering especially powerful was its combination of rigorous research and lived experience. This was not just a conversation about media optics. It was about narrative power—and how the stories we normalize shape who believes they belong in the future.
The evening opened with a message that has become foundational to the Geena Davis Institute’s work: bias in media is often invisible until data makes it undeniable.
Geena Davis set the tone by demonstrating how research has evolved from manual content analysis to AI-powered measurement, allowing the Institute to analyze screen time, speaking time, character attributes, and language patterns at scale. The findings were sobering but familiar: women remain underrepresented, speak less, and are still less likely to occupy positions of authority onscreen.
But the symposium pushed beyond diagnosing the problem.
It asked a sharper question: What happens when girls rarely see women solving the world’s biggest problems?
That question gained urgency through remarks from the Lyda Hill Foundation, which framed STEM not as an abstract career category but as the force behind solving climate change, medical innovation, public health, and technological progress. The argument was simple and powerful: if society needs every capable mind working on these challenges, excluding girls—explicitly or implicitly—is a loss we cannot afford.
The release of Portray Her gave the room hard evidence.
Research presented by Dr. Caroline Heldman revealed a stark gap between reality and representation. Women make up over half the population but only 37% of STEM characters in media. Women of color are even more underrepresented. More revealing, however, was what girls themselves reported: many do not reject STEM because they lack interest or ability. They reject it because they perceive it as isolating, biased, or incompatible with the life they want.
That distinction matters.
The barrier is not aptitude. It is imagination.
The conversation shifted from research to storytelling as panelists reflected on the media that shaped them.
Nkechi Carroll described how moving across continents exposed her to radically different forms of representation. Her insight was profound: media doesn’t merely reflect culture—it teaches audiences what possibilities feel normal. For creators, that means every character choice carries consequence.
Jess Cramp brought the conversation into lived reality. As a shark researcher working in physically demanding environments, she challenged narrow ideas about what a scientist looks like. Her story dismantled the stereotype of science as sterile, isolated lab work. STEM, she showed, can be adventurous, collaborative, physical, and deeply mission-driven.
That reframing mattered because one of the report’s most consequential findings centered on perception: girls are significantly more likely to pursue STEM when they see it as collaborative and community-serving.
Chris Nee, creator of Doc McStuffins, represented what intentional storytelling can achieve. Her work helped normalize a brilliant young Black girl as a medical problem-solver for millions of children—not as a “special case,” but as the center of the story. That kind of representation does more than diversify screens. It rewires expectations.
Khandi Alexander and Mika Abdalla added the performer’s perspective, speaking to the importance of embodying smart, capable female characters whose intelligence drives narrative stakes rather than decorating them.
The conversation ultimately returned to responsibility.
Not responsibility as guilt. Responsibility as opportunity.
Geena Davis delivered one of the evening’s clearest calls to action: do a “gender pass” on every script. Ask simple but transformative questions.
Why is this character male?
Could this role be female?
Could she be a woman of color?
Does she drive the plot—or merely support it?
These are small creative choices with outsized cultural consequences.
And as the evening closed, one truth became unmistakable:
Changing the future of STEM may begin with changing what happens on page one of a script.
Geena Davis anchored the symposium with the Institute’s research-driven mission: expose bias, quantify it, and change it. Her core message was clear—representation gaps are rarely intentional, but they remain harmful until creators actively address them.
Madeline connected research to action, reinforcing that data alone is not enough. Her leadership reflects GDI’s belief that evidence becomes powerful when translated into industry behavior.
Nicole framed STEM equity as both a cultural and economic imperative. She emphasized that inspiring girls requires changing the stories they absorb early and often.
Lyda brought a deeply personal perspective rooted in lifelong investment in science. Her vision reinforced a central truth of the evening: solving global challenges requires every brain at the table.
Caroline presented the symposium’s defining research. Her analysis clarified that underrepresentation is not simply numerical—it shapes perception, confidence, and career pathways.
Nkechi highlighted media’s global influence on identity and aspiration. Her perspective reinforced how representation shapes what audiences perceive as possible.
Jess shattered stereotypes about scientists through lived experience. Her work demonstrated that STEM is dynamic, collaborative, and deeply human.
Khandi brought insight into how powerful female characters shape audience expectations. Her perspective underscored the importance of portraying competence with depth and authority.
Chris offered one of the strongest examples of representation in action. Through Doc McStuffins, she helped normalize female scientific leadership for young viewers.
Mika represented the impact of youth-centered STEM storytelling. Her perspective illustrated how media can make intelligence aspirational and relatable for younger audiences.
Aimée contributed a creator’s lens on narrative construction and character design. Her perspective supported the discussion around intentional representation in storytelling.
Glen added an industry perspective from the writing and producing side, reinforcing that change often begins in development and writers’ rooms.
This symposium was presented in partnership with If/Then, an initiative of the Lyda Hill Foundation, and hosted with support from the Writers Guild of America West.
The alignment was deeply intentional.
The Geena Davis Institute brought research and industry influence.
The Lyda Hill Foundation brought bold philanthropic investment in women in STEM.
If/Then brought a mission focused on visibility and inspiration.
Together, these partners created more than an event—they created a strategic intervention designed to influence culture at scale.
The industries shaping media are also shaping workforce pipelines.
When girls repeatedly see scientists portrayed as male, white, isolated, or emotionally detached, the message lands long before college applications or career decisions. It becomes part of cultural common sense.
That is why this work matters.
The Geena Davis Institute continues to lead because it understands something fundamental: representation is not cosmetic. It is structural.
Stories influence confidence.
Confidence influences ambition.
Ambition influences participation.
Participation influences who solves humanity’s biggest problems.
If the industry ignores this, we don’t just lose representation.
We lose talent.
Innovation.
Perspective.
Solutions.
The stakes are much bigger than entertainment.
The conversations shaping the future of media rarely happen in public.
They happen inside rooms like this—where researchers, executives, creators, and cultural leaders challenge assumptions and build better systems together.
That access is intentional.
As a member of the Geena Davis Institute, you gain access to exclusive Geena Davis Institute symposiums, research briefings, and conversations with the people actively shaping culture.
Membership offers more than admission.
It gives you access to insight that informs real decisions.
A community committed to measurable change.
And a seat in conversations that move industries forward.
These rooms are designed for people ready to do more than observe.
They are for people ready to influence what comes next, join today.
