Track: Women in Industry and Academia

Abstract

This paper deals with the social perceptions of being a woman and being a scientist in Brazil. Women made many scientific discoveries even before feminist movements took a place in the fight for women's rights. Although more qualified than men, women still do not occupy the spaces of power. This is reflected in the representation of girls and women who could enter scientific courses but are discouraged. In this sense, the objective of this study is to understand how social media can collaborate to encourage the participation of women in science. We use a qualitative methodology to analyze YouTube channel videos from women scientists in order to understand what makes a video have more views than others on these channels. We conclude that social media can contribute to women entering science, since they can provide women scientists with a role of social representation. However, it is necessary that the content published on social media is not a mere reproduction of scientific articles. It takes an accessible language to reach the maximum number of people.