Still Hidden Figures: Gender and Race Representation in Children’s Educational Science Media

There is a lack of diversity in science, hence a lack of real-world role models. This may perpetuate barriers to access to science for children, who may not see themselves represented in today’s scientists and engineers. Media could play an important role in filling the real-world representation gap by featuring women and people of color. But does early childhood science media include diverse characters? We conducted a content analysis of 251 pieces of children’s educational science media created for children ages 4-10 years (110 television shows and 141 books). We found that male characters and White characters were more common overall in our set than female characters or people of color. Male and White characters were also more likely to be depicted as main characters and as experts in science. Additionally, both male and female characters were more likely to display stereotypical rather than counter-stereotypical behaviors. Despite recent calls for on-screen diversity in media, women and people of color remain hidden figures in children’s educational science media.