Disney Women in STEM
For The United Nations'International Day of Women and Girls in Science (#IDWGS), I wanted to draw attention to the representation of the phenomenal females of Disney. Unfortunately, there aren't very many easily recognizable female characters in STEM in Disney media. Of the approximately 200 characters classified as scientists on Disney Wiki, only about 20 of them were female and even fewer were in more than one episode of a TV show or in a major motion picture. Below I highlight some of the better known and lesser known females in science roles from Disney animation, live-action and park attractions.
Animated
Honey Lemon is kind of the perfect combination of the traditional Disney Princess and nerdy scientist. She is kind, optimistic, fashionable AND an adept chemical engineering student. I love how she counters most of the stereotypes of a mad scientist as a crotchety Caucasian man and helps to break down the shock that most people have that women can't be both beautiful and smart.
Honey Lemon from Big Hero 6 in fighting pose
Gogo Tamago is an industrial design and mechanical engineering student in Big Hero 6 who uses the science of magnetism as her super power. Her line of "Stop whining, woman up!" gave a clue into how the culture of San Fransokyo is different from our current society. Athletic and sarcastic, she deserves just as much respect and admiration as the more traditionally feminine Honey Lemon.
Vanellope von Schweetz is an actual Princess (and President!) but also a resourceful enough engineer to build her own kart to compete in Sugar Rush races. She could have used a little bit more knowledge of computer code but her spunk and sympathetic nature make her a very endearing child racing prodigy.
Vanellope von Schweetz with hands on hips
Gadget Hackwrench (who also has a ride in Disneyland's Toontown named after her!) is one of Chip and Dale's friends (and main love interests) but doesn't get as much recognition as she deserves. She's an inventor and tinkerer that always comes up with creative solutions using everyday items. She can be feisty but is nevertheless a valuable member of the Rescue Rangers.
Lesser Known
The majority of animated STEM females have very small roles and in other cases they are the villains, like the Evil Queen, Ursula or Yzma using scientific (but more often just magical) powers to craft various potions. In more recent productions, like on Disney Jr.'s Miles from Tomorrowland, there are some more notable women and girls in STEM.
Tanya Vanderflock from Mighty Ducks is similar to Gadget Hackwrench in that she uses her mechanical genius to help her accomplish team's goals.
Vivian Francis Porter from Kim Possible also suffered from people not taking her intellect seriously due to her stunning beauty.
Sara Bellum, Rhoda Dendron and the villainous Anna Matronic from Darkwing Duck have great names but very little screentime.
Loretta Callisto is the main character's supportive and tech-savvy sister and Dr. Zephyr Skye is her storm-hunting and kick-butt role model (voiced by a real meteorologist) from Miles from Tomorrowland on Disney Jr. Hopefully these characters will inspire more young girls to want to be scientists!
Loretta Callisto wearing a pink outfit and making her wrist contraption display hologram images
Live Action
While there are a handful of females with doctorates in Disney live-action films, very few of them have prominent roles or rich back-stories and plots like their male counterparts. Some of the best representation actually comes from the Marvel movies and even then, the studios could do much better by giving these wonder women their own movies instead of relegating them to supporting roles.
Carina Smyth from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a very passionate and determined astronomer living in difficult times. Her wrongful conviction as a witch definitely is not so far off from shaming of women that still happens today.
Carina Smyth from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Gabriella Montez from High School Musical also fits the stereotype of being ridiculed and being an outcast for being a math and science nerd but she doesn't let silly boys stop her from pursuing her dreams of going to an amazing school and maintaining her passion for singing and competing in the science olympiad.
Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds in Flubber and Dr. Abigail Chase from National Treasure both serve primarily as the love interests in their respective movies but have also achieved a great deal of success in their fields as evidenced by their prominent positions. I would love to see spin-offs showing the adventures and challenges they overcame to get to where they are.
Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds from Flubber sits outside
Marvel
Jane Foster is a well-known astrophysicist and is Thor's main love interest. It was great to see Natalie Portman portray another powerful woman.
Maya Hansen from Iron Man 3 is a botanist who has a brief relationship with Tony Stark.
Betty Ross is a nuclear physicist in the Hulk comics and movie.
Jane Foster in Thor 2, wearing armor and looking over her shoulder
Lastly, Leia Organa was not only a princess and general but also secretly a doctor.
Parks
Dr. Jaclyn Ogden is the primary expert on banshees on the planet Pandora and restarted the Avatar program so that guests can partake in a similar rite of passage as the Na'vi. (She was named after the real life Jackie Ogden who is an experimental psychologist and director of animal programs for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts).
Jaclyn Ogden from the Pandora Conservation Initiative stands with a bundle of purple rope on her shoulder, wearing a green cargo vest
Mary Oceaneer is one of the few females in the fictional elite club, the Society of Explorers and Adventurers. She must know a fair bit about cartography, astronomy and the mechanics of captaining a ship and diving for treasure in order to be a successful treasure hunter. She inspired attractions on the Disney Cruise Line and at Typhoon Lagoon - a water park in Florida.
Doctor Marsh from DINOSAUR and the woman in Spaceship Earth are some of the only women of color in science in any Disney media and one of them doesn't even talk. Perhaps now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, the woman in Spaceship Earth can finally be tied to one of the awesome ladies of Hidden Figures and given a line.
Doctor Marsh sits at a table in the Dino Institute, welcoming the audience
To end on a positive note, women and girls visiting the parks can be inspired by real-life females in STEM by observing the hard-working women in Living with the Land or on the Behind the Seeds tour as well as in the light-hearted demonstrations of science principles in the (now obsolete) SpectacuLab. Furthermore, Disney has highlighted several women in its Every Role a Starring Role and Disney Careers YouTube videos; check out my playlist of these women here.
A Disney Intern gives a Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot; she's wearing a blue polo shirt and khaki shorts.
Two women wearing lab coats stand in front of a young male intern wearing a black polo shirt and glasses on stage at the Spectaculab attraction at Epcot
Are there any Disney women in STEM that you think deserve more recognition? Or what kind of women in STEM would you like to see represented in Disney media?