Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures is a movie that addresses the subject of women in science and engineering fields. It does so by telling the story of three Afro-American women: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. It is important to denote that these women were part of two segregated groups in America and mostly around the world: women and non-white individuals. Still, they worked in NASA but in a segregated department where colored women made the calculations needed for several departments.
The movie shows how they were discriminated in several ways, they had to go to different restrooms (because they were not white) they were in a very tiny office and they were not noticed when asking for promotions or permissions for external problems. These women, of course, had great potential and intellect but because of their gender and color of skin, they were barely noticed. It was not until the desperation took over the lead engineers that they were considered to take different positions. But at the end (of the movie, not of the story) Katherine Johnson’s calculations helped to make the first man in the United States to orbit the moon, Dorothy Vaughan was the first supervisor of the IBM services in NASA and Mary Jackson was the first female aerospace engineer in the USA.
I believe that this story is very important in today’s world as it can help women everywhere to believe and be sure that they are perfectly capable of finishing the career they want, of taking power roles and that their gender should not be a limit to what they can and cannot do.
What we can learn from Katherine Johnson is to work hard and be the best in our fields no matter the limits others want to put upon us. A curious fact about her story is that despite what the movie shows, she didn’t run from across the buildings of NASA just to go to the restroom, she used the “white-restroom” as open defiance of the laws imposed. She didn’t limit herself to do the calculations for NASA, she also wrote 27scientific articles and is considered, of course, a pioneer woman in STEM fields.
What we can learn from Dorothy Vaughan is to always keep learning and to help those among us to grow. She, as mentioned before, was the first Afro-American woman to be a supervisor in the IBM services department and made herself an expert in FORTRAN to do so. She was also known in her department to help both Afro-American and white women to grow in the department when she believed that their work was worthy.
What we can learn from Mary Jackson is not to be afraid of being the first in something, to work hard on our goals and also to help those among us. She was the first Afro-American woman in NASA to be an engineer, to do so she had to attend to nocturnal classes in an all-white school so she had to get the permission of a judge to do so. When she accomplished that and ascended in her career she took charge of two programs in NASA: Federal Women’s Program in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program. In these programs, she assured help to women and other segregated groups to advance in their careers giving counseling on how to change their math degree to an engineering degree giving those groups better opportunities.
The movie shows how they were discriminated in several ways, they had to go to different restrooms (because they were not white) they were in a very tiny office and they were not noticed when asking for promotions or permissions for external problems. These women, of course, had great potential and intellect but because of their gender and color of skin, they were barely noticed. It was not until the desperation took over the lead engineers that they were considered to take different positions. But at the end (of the movie, not of the story) Katherine Johnson’s calculations helped to make the first man in the United States to orbit the moon, Dorothy Vaughan was the first supervisor of the IBM services in NASA and Mary Jackson was the first female aerospace engineer in the USA.
I believe that this story is very important in today’s world as it can help women everywhere to believe and be sure that they are perfectly capable of finishing the career they want, of taking power roles and that their gender should not be a limit to what they can and cannot do.
What we can learn from Katherine Johnson is to work hard and be the best in our fields no matter the limits others want to put upon us. A curious fact about her story is that despite what the movie shows, she didn’t run from across the buildings of NASA just to go to the restroom, she used the “white-restroom” as open defiance of the laws imposed. She didn’t limit herself to do the calculations for NASA, she also wrote 27scientific articles and is considered, of course, a pioneer woman in STEM fields.
What we can learn from Dorothy Vaughan is to always keep learning and to help those among us to grow. She, as mentioned before, was the first Afro-American woman to be a supervisor in the IBM services department and made herself an expert in FORTRAN to do so. She was also known in her department to help both Afro-American and white women to grow in the department when she believed that their work was worthy.
What we can learn from Mary Jackson is not to be afraid of being the first in something, to work hard on our goals and also to help those among us. She was the first Afro-American woman in NASA to be an engineer, to do so she had to attend to nocturnal classes in an all-white school so she had to get the permission of a judge to do so. When she accomplished that and ascended in her career she took charge of two programs in NASA: Federal Women’s Program in the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Program. In these programs, she assured help to women and other segregated groups to advance in their careers giving counseling on how to change their math degree to an engineering degree giving those groups better opportunities.
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