#HackAHairDryer: another attempt to make science appeal to women falls flat | Jenny Rohn

Jenny Rohn: Despite years of effort, women remain under-represented in science. But are there really any neat solutions?

Another week, and another attempt to engage girls in the sciences being widely ridiculed on Twitter. This time it was IBM, whose hastily withdrawn campaign joins the ranks of other criticised efforts, including the European Commission's "Science: It's A Girl Thing" video, and EDF Energy's "Pretty Curious" initiative.

One can't help feeling a bit sorry for IBM and other corporations whose well-meaning efforts fall flat. I personally found nothing offensive about the IBM video, which invited aspiring female engineers to subvert a so-called "girly" household object into something more interesting (examples included a hot air-driven clock). In fact, the video explicitly challenged the stereotype that women are only interested in body image. Unfortunately, the territory of "pinkification" is so sensitive and fraught that it seems to be off-limits as a hook - even one that subverts the stereotypes instead of feeding them.