<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"What gets girls and young women interested in computer science? According to Girls Who Code, a national nonprofit organization that provides computer science classes for middle school- and high school-age girls, most of its applicants actually aspire to have careers in forensic science. On the plus side, a computer science degree can lead to a highly lucrative and flexible career. On the other...why forensics?\nPinterestFacebookThe New York Times Magazine reports that many Girls Who Code applicants didn&amp;#39;t really understand what computer science was when they applied, and they don&amp;#39;t know any computer scientists in their own lives. What they do know is that they&amp;#39;ve seen female forensic scientists on popular shows like CSI, Bones, Rizzoli &amp;amp; Isles, NCIS, and Law &amp;amp; Order SVU, and they seem pretty fierce. Perhaps that&amp;#39;s why when girls were asked to write down their career aspiration on the application, &amp;quot;forensic scientist&amp;quot; was the most common answer. The second most popular response&amp;#8212;&amp;quot;doctor&amp;quot;&amp;#8212;s less surprising but still pretty great. This is another role girls often have seen women playing on TV in shows like The Mindy Project, Grey&amp;#39;s Anatomy, and if we want to go old-school, ER.\nIt is interesting to consider how gender roles in television and films are divided. You see a lot more women in roles as designers, writers, boutique owners, lawyers, and of course doctors. Some of this is likely gender-related, but it might also have something to do with what makes a good visual story. A woman striding around a courtroom fighting injustice or rushing someone into surgery is probably more compelling TV than watching someone code a website...alone.\nBut over the years, there have been some fantastic female scientist roles, and we&amp;#39;d like to call out a few of our favorites. We wish there were more, but here goes:\nDr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) in Jurassic Park is an eminent paleontologist who fights a few dinosaurs. Bonus: She&amp;#39;s not a love interest.__\nDr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) in Contact is a force to be reckoned with. A radio astronomer, she is the first person to hear the encrypted alien signal&amp;#8212;so cool!\nCaptain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) from Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis is not only a captain in the USAF, but she&amp;#39;s also an astrophysicist and true badass.\n__What about you? Do you have any favorite female characters who inspired your career choice? Share in the comments below!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/story/do-female-scientists-on-the-sc>