Girls are the building blocks of our country’s future. And now, LEGO is giving them the tools to turn their creative ambitions into a reality.

LEGO recently unveiled a Women of NASA playset, commemorating the influence of women on the United States’ space exploration. Within days of its release, the set became the top-selling toy on Amazon, showing that girls can keep up with the boys just fine.

From astronauts Sally Ride and Mae Jemison to computer scientist Margaret Hamilton and astronomer Nancy Roman, LEGO’s latest project celebrates women’s hidden legacy in science and encourages young girls to pursue careers monopolized by men. Along with the success of films like “Hidden Figures,” LEGO’s set proves 2017 has been the year of women in STEM. And it marks a new generation of women on the promise that they don’t have to sacrifice or apologize for their femininity because of their career interests.

This new wave of female empowerment couldn’t have come at a better time. Less than 30 percent of scientific researchers worldwide are women, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. The U.S. Department of Commerce also found that women only hold 24 percent of STEM jobs.

If science and math-based career paths will continue to be promoted for the next generation, we need to get women involved. Under the Obama administration, collaborative efforts from the White House Council on Women and Girls supported gender equality in participation through the $4.35 billion Race to the Top competition. But it can’t stop there.

What the U.S. needs, beyond expanding educational and career opportunities to women, is restructuring how we raise girls in society and the classroom. A survey commissioned by Microsoft found that young girls’ interest in STEM peaked at age 11, but quickly deteriorated by age 15. The reason? Gender stereotypes and social expectations.

Our culture has valued womens’ silence and compliance rather than encouraging them to use their brains and their voices to better themselves and society. And beyond socialization, girls need industry role models to encourage them that there is a seat at the table and they should they want it. That’s where companies like LEGO can make a difference.

Representation and aspiration are essential for young girls visualizing their dream jobs. The workforce for women is no longer limited to Mad Men-esque secretarial positions. But without seeing powerful women in the science, math and engineering industries, it’s challenging for girls to envision themselves in positions primarily held by men.

Still, where there is a glass ceiling, there’s always someone willing to smash it. LEGO’s latest move highlights women who have contributed to STEM and clarifies that the STEM world we take for granted today wouldn’t exist without women’s contributions.

Ambitions shouldn’t be exclusive to gender, race, class or age. It’s time that young girls realize their potential and demand equal treatment and opportunity because of it. Because in the world of science, women can, and ought to be, the element of success.

Kelsey Thompson is a junior magazine journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at katho101@syr.edu.

Published on November 11, 2017 at 5:43 pm