Agents of SHIELD Star, Aisha Tyler and Carrie Kemper Examine Women in Science

Are we encouraging girls to pursue scientific careers? That's the question that the Paley Center for Media examined on Monday. Elizabeth Henstridge, Aisha Tyler, and Carrie Kemper participated in a discussion moderated by Girls Who Code founder, Reshma Saujani, that examined how media influences girls when it comes to pursuing jobs in science.

According to the Department of Commerce, only 24 percent of the scientists and engineers in the United States are women. And when it comes to encouraging girls-and women-to pick up careers as scientists, media can play a huge role. Shows, such as S.H.I.E.L.D., Bones and CSI, all have the potential to encourage women to look at scientific careers.

Henstridge, an actress who plays the scientist Jemma Simmons from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., recounted how several girls visited the set after winning a science competition in school. After spending time with them, she admitted that her role as a scientist in the show had an impact.

"It is creating a positive image of science for young girls, because they told me that it is," said Henstridge. "That's really special and I'm really proud to be a part of something that does that."

In the 1980s, 30 percent of computer science graduates were women. Surprisingly, that number has dropped to 18 percent; it's actually the only industry where you've seen a decline in women. In this case, it's a matter of changing culture in order to encourage women to pursue careers in science.

"I remember I wanted to be a scientist when I was growing up," admitted Aisha Tyler, comedian and voice for Lana Kane in the television show, Archer. "I loved math and science-mainly because I loved things that made me love math and science; I loved sci-fi and video games. I wanted to be an engineer until I realized you needed to go to five years in college...so I decided to be a clown instead."

Despite not actually pursuing a career in science, Tyler was quick to point out that playing a scientist or someone involved in engineering was almost just as important when it came to changing public perception.

But it's not just up to the actors and actresses; it's also up to writers to make that happen.

"I have a lot of people come to me and say 'I want to write a female character. How do I do that?'" said Tyler. "And I go 'Just write an awesome character and then make her a woman.' You know, I don't wake up every morning and go 'I'm female, how do I feel about that?'"

In the end, it's about encouraging strong, female characters in scientific fields to serve as role models for girls. This can help encourage young women to pursue interests in scientific fields in the future.

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