Review of: The Gender Chip Project. Directed by Helen De Michiel. New York: Women Make Movies, 2005. 54 minutes. Great Unsung Women of Computing: The Computers, the Coders, and the Future Makers. Directed by Kathy Kleiman, Jon Palfreman, and Kate McMahon. New York: Women Make Movies, 2016. 48 minutes.

Today, interest in women’s work in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) runs high, a natural topic for classroom attention. Two films reviewed here may interest educators seeking to promote understanding and discussion of gender and STEM. The Gender Chip Project follows sophomore-to-senior-year experiences of five female STEM majors at Ohio State University. Multiyear tracking shows these women growing into their studies in engineering, biology, and computers. The women enthuse about their fascination with STEM work and their dreams of discovering life-saving cures or inventions to make communities better. They credit parents with inspiring their determination, independence, and curiosity. Interviews also document the women’s frustration at being patronized by peers and teachers, feeling the need to work twice as hard, and facing problems of low self-confidence as a lone woman amidst male classmates with big attitudes. Conversations about post-graduation paths show these students worrying about family/career balance, even as they tell younger women to look for supportive contacts and to believe that “anything is possible—dream big and work hard.