Whilst Miss Universe and beauty pageants aren’t my usual area of interest and discussion, this year’s competition has certainly caught my attention. Last Sunday, Andrea Meza (Miss Mexico) was crowned the 69th Miss Universe in Hollywood, Florida. Why is this important? Because she is a software engineer, which has the potential to be an absolute game changer for women in STEM. For so long we have all been fighting against stereotypes and trying to change misconceptions about engineers, so having an engineer win Miss Universe should be a huge step in the right direction!
Photo Credit: Tracy Nguyen/Miss Universe via AP
The best part about this year’s competition was, alongside Miss Mexico, there were three other finalists who are also women in STEM jobs! Whilst this only represented 5% of the contestants…the fact that these women are forging trailblazing paths and becoming role models for girls all around the world is something that has to be applauded.
- Miss Peru – Janick Maceta, Audio Engineer
- Miss Nicaragua – Ana Marcelo, Agroindustrial Engineer
- Miss Costa Rica – Ivonne Cerdas, Software Engineer
These ladies are showing the next generation of girls who are watching these pageants, that female engineers can be beautiful, glamourous and enter beauty pageants in their free time. So many girls I speak to at STEM ambassador events are shocked when I’m wearing a smart suit and not overalls…the general misconception still to this day is that engineering is a dirty, very unsexy job which doesn’t appeal to a lot of young girls. However, if they see that engineers can be Miss Universe finalists, and even winners…the power of that mindset shift could be truly ground-breaking.
And whilst the fact Miss Universe was an engineer would have totally passed me by as a kid growing up, I appreciate that this opens a lot more eyes on such a huge stage. Andrea has openly talked about her experiences as the only female in her graduate classes, feeling uncomfortable at times getting unwanted attention from her peers. She is determined to use her global platform after this victory to discuss these issues more openly, and to encourage more girls to take up careers in STEM subjects.
For this, she can be applauded and I genuinely believe this is the kind of positive step that is needed to really start to make some progress with female engagement with STEM. It is also a credit to the Miss Universe organisation that they are raising the profile of women in STEM by giving these inspiring ladies the opportunity to share their stories. I had no idea how much work they did to raise women’s aspirations and confidence, enabling them to reach their full potential and go into high profile careers.
You can read more about Miss Universe at the following site:
https://www.missuniverse.com/about
I won’t have a sudden urge to start doing beauty pageants, but I hope this story has been interesting to read as I’m really optimistic that it will have a hugely positive impact on female engineers.
Leave a comment below with your thoughts on how Miss Universe can change stereotypes of women in STEM…do you think it will make a difference?
Emilie
The Female Engineer
