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Half of Hope leadership are women: Is LEGO listening?

Dubai - A few years later, not just me, but all the boys and girls learnt that they could enroll in STEM-related courses and make both a career out of it and contribute towards the field as well.

The most common question in general knowledge books in the classroom, and even later at young adult quiz nights, was to name the first man who went to space. It was Yuri Gagarin in 1961. Just two years later, in 1963 Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to travel to space. However, for the longest, I waited for the question to appear in the books or pop up at quizzes. Valentina was my hero, heroine, if you must, just as much Yuri was. I never wanted to grow up to be an astronaut or do anything to do with studying space, either. I was, of course, as a young girl, fascinated by how one could send space crafts and humans (and dog: Laika in 1957) to a land, which had so far existed only in my science book in the chapter titled The Solar System.

I started to watch movies, which took me to various planets and was fascinated by the work the men and women did on ground and beyond to pave way for information gathering, future developments, and more. I even waited, patiently and optimistically, for the day when Mattel, the brand making the Barbie, would launch an astronaut Barbie, and I get that for my birthday. The version came out in 2013, by which time I’d outgrown playing with dolls and had developed some ideas when it came to female stereotypes. A few years later, not just me, but all the boys and girls learnt that they could enroll in STEM-related courses and make both a career out of it and contribute towards the field as well.

Even with my limited space-centric background, you can imagine how I exuded pride, just a few days ago, when I read the factoid which stated that ‘Half of the leadership positions of the UAE’s historic Hope probe mission to Mars are held by women’. I instantly made a note to include the name of Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and President of the UAE Space Agency, on not just all quiz cards but also started to speak to the young girls (and boys) about her and her female team members’ journey. Al Amiri had remarked: “The team behind the UAE’s historic Hope probe comprised 34 per cent women, who served in various roles such as engineers, scientists, and academic researchers, and were involved in all stages of manufacturing and design.” And those are the words that I now wish would go viral as social media cards on our timelines. And these words as well, “Half of the leadership positions of the Hope probe were women, which shows the crucial role women in STEM-focused positions play today.” At this point, it is also interesting to note that today more than 56 per cent of STEM-graduates in the UAE are women.

I have never believed in gender stereotypes, but I am also a firm believer in the philosophy that sometimes to bring about a change in the thoughts and ideas that have been ingrained in our minds for generations, one needs to make a little noise to recognise when there is a shift. And yes, if Mattel and LEGO are listening, I’d love to watch kids play with iconic toys inspired by the Women of Mars soon enough.

purva@khaleejtimes.com