More or Less A boy meets girl meets stats story
Nov 25, 2023
Veronica Carlin, a data scientist who loves romantic comedies, explores the representation of women in STEM roles in romantic comedies and discusses the significance of her findings. She also discusses the influence of characters like Dana Scully and 'The Other Zoe', a rom-com that promotes embracing life through love.
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Data Scientist Who Loves Rom‑Coms
- Veronica Carlin is a data scientist who loves romantic comedies and noticed STEM women are rarely leads in rom-coms.
- Her personal interest in both rom-coms and STEM motivated a data-driven investigation into representation.
Expected STEM Share Based On Workforce
- Veronica used NSF definitions and Bureau of Labor Statistics figures to compute expected STEM representation among female leads.
- She calculated that about 16.5% of rom‑com female leads should be in STEM if films matched workforce proportions.
Counting STEM Leads In 249 Films
- Veronica compiled 249 US rom‑coms from IMDB from 1990–2019 and checked each lead's occupation.
- She found only 12 films with a female lead in a STEM role, far below the expected count.