You Can't Be What You Can't See

​Do role models matter? Yes, they do. In particular, women and people of color need to see role models of people who look like them in every field, especially in positions of leadership, authority and power. Tomorrow, I'm going to see the premiere of the new Wonder Woman movie with a girlfriend and I'm very excited. The trailer portrays the main character and lead role as a powerful, strong and intelligent shero. Research continues to support the powerful link between 'visibility' and positive effects for members in non dominant groups. For example, the Air Force Academy assigned female professors to female cadets in STEM fields and saw a spike in the number of female students choosing STEM majors. This is just one example of many studies that show the power and influence of role models. Now, where did I park my invisible jet?