Write a short summary of what happens in the film

We created a hard-hitting film that showcases different scenarios across the country, in different languages, where girls who show an interest in STEM are on the receiving end of the bias. It poignantly narrates examples of a girl who is told to not do a task only because her clothes might get dirty, a teacher assuming that a science project was done by a male peer, or a young girl encouraged to dress up as a princess rather than her preference of a robot. We witness the children discouraged only because they are… girls. Through this film, we made young women in India the center of change to end gender inequality in the fields of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by shining a mirror on people (especially those close to them) that propagate gender biases and stereotypes down generations.

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

Young Indian girls perform as well as, or even better than boys in school. And more than 40 percent of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) graduates in India are women. Yet Indian women make up only 14% of the workforce in STEM. One of the main causes for this gender parity in STEM are the parents and immediate family members of these young girls who discourage them with their unconscious bias: girl children are told what they ‘can’ be good at, ‘how’ they should speak, dress, and conduct themselves, and ‘what’ they are likely to become once they grow up. This inspired us to create Olay #STEMTHEGAP – a movement for deep social change that speaks especially to people closest to young, impressionable girls; An invite to everyone to collectively #STEMTheGap by bringing about a change in our mindsets and questioning the biases that we all carry.