I was fortunate enough to get the chance to watch “Hidden Figures” at Cornell Cinema. I’ve seen the trailer of this movie a while ago and I’m glad I got the chance to see it at a Rose event. Overall, I thought the film was incredible. The acting and cinematography was amazing, and it really captured the frustrations colored women had to go through just to prove their worth. The soundtrack that went along with the film showed how empowering these women were, especially the scene where they march down to the computer room because they were the only ones who were able to program it.

After the movie ended, we had a discussion with a Cornell professor about why very few women graduate with a computer science degree compared to other STEM disciplines like biology, engineering, chemistry, etc. Personally, I think the main reason is that programming has always been predominantly a male field. There is the geek culture and the love of video gaming that comes along with it, which further reinforces the perception. Although a lot more women are pursuing CS as a major recently, I hope that the preconceived notion that computer science is exclusive to men will wear off over time.