upworthy
Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

How 'boy toys' and 'girl toys' are causing big problems in the tech industry.

The market for jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is one of the fastest growing in the United States.

If you're still wondering why, just look around: Millions of people are carrying small computers in their pockets. We can play the most advanced video games in the world on a device thinner than a pencil. Our watches can track and send our heartbeats to loved ones on the other side of the planet, and every 20-something with a plaid shirt secretly dreams of inventing the next Facebook.

Talking is texting, dating is Tinder-ing, and ordering hangover takeout is an experience joyously free of human contact. Not to mention all the progress and innovations in health and medicine that keep many of us alive longer and longer every day.

But there's a problem in the world of STEM that needs to be fixed.

Despite the fact that women make up more than half of the professional and technical work force in the United States, women are massively underrepresented in STEM careers and have been for decades.

Margaret Hamilton, a software engineer who helped get Apollo XI to the moon. Photo by NASA/Wikimedia Commons.

In 2011, women held less than 25% of STEM jobs. Overall, that's an increase since the 1970s, but in computer occupations, women's representation has actually declined since the 1990s.

So why — specifically — is this a problem?

Well, if underrepresentation of an entire gender in America's fastest growing job market doesn't do it for you, consider this: Lack of diversity and representation isn't just bad for progress, it's bad for business.

Especially in STEM industries which are based on innovative ideas and creative thinking — not having women in the room when designing something meant to be used by people across the gender spectrum is entirely unproductive. When all-male teams create products, they often miss potential solutions because they experience the world differently than women do. When women join those teams, products that had been designed by-men-for-men are adapted and become more useful to the entire population.

All images and data from FatWallet: STEM toys for girls.

It turns out, women get turned away from STEM careers pretty early in life.

Society starts to impose gender roles on kids much earlier than you might think.

"By age 3, children can start articulating gender and racial stereotypes," says Catherine Hill, a researcher at the American Association of University Women (AAUW). "They are learning by what they see, and they are forming stereotypes from the world around them — from parents, teachers, daycare staff."

Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images.

That means that while girls are encouraged to play with Barbies, they are sometimes being told that Legos and other construction toys are "boy toys." Similarly, a boy might smash an old radio to see what's inside and be labeled as "curious" or "a tinkerer" while at times girls are discouraged from such messy and destructive behavior.

All of those little differences in rewarded behavior can steer girls away from their curiosity in engineering, technology, and building instead of nurturing it into an eventual career path.

Worse still, women who do enter the STEM workforce are met with even more discouraging trends.

Yep, you guessed it. There's a STEM wage gap. And a sexual harassment problem.

Image from FatWallet: STEM toys for girls.

The best place to start correcting these patterns is with kids.

Specifically, with all the weirdly gender-specific toys kids are given to play with.

Marina Lee, founder and CEO of the Women in Tech Network, believes parents should encourage their kids to break through those socially constructed barriers when it comes to which toys they play with.

"Let children play with whatever toys they want to play with," Lee says. "Boys don’t just need to play with trucks and building blocks, and girls don’t just need to play with dolls. We need to look at our own unconscious bias as parents and caretakers.”

"Keep your Cabbage Patch Kids. I play with trucks." Photo by John Macdougal/AFP/Getty Images.

The AAUW also recommends several steps for encouraging young girls to explore STEM, which include providing girls with opportunities to tinker and take things apart and introducing them to STEM outside of the school setting. It's also important that boys see that girls can be competent, capable, and interested in STEM through the toys they play with at a young age. Men are often the gatekeepers to job opportunities, so making sure they don't buy into the idea that certain toys (careers) are for them and other toys (careers) are for women is crucial.

Ultimately, this is not just about improving cellphones and seat belts. It's about making the world easier for everyone to live in.

When STEM jobs (and jobs in all fields, really) are more inclusive, the world gets better. More diversity and representation means more innovation and more solutions to problems that people of all genders face.

That means better medicine, better hospitals, and better methods of communication.

When you tell a girl that she shouldn't play with Legos or that she can only play with the pink and purple Lego Friends sets, what you're really telling her is that she shouldn't satisfy her desire to build things. You're telling her that she shouldn't build, shouldn't tinker, shouldn't innovate, and that her gender actively prevents her from being good at those things.

It doesn't take an advanced STEM degree to see that's wrong.

Plus ... Legos are AMAZING.

I LOVE LEGOS. YOU LOVE LEGOS. WHO DOESN'T LOVE LEGOS?!

Education

Gen Z is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents but Denmark has a solution

"Since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents."

Gen Z; Millennials; technology; cell phones; social media; teens and technology; teens social media
Photo credit: Canva

Gen Z is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents. Denmark has the solution.

Nearly every parent hopes their child will be better off than they are: smarter, more secure, and more well-adjusted. Many parents see this as a stamp of successful parenting, but something has changed for children growing up today. While younger generations are known for their empathy, their cognitive capabilities seem to be lagging behind those of previous generations for the first time in history.

Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a teacher turned cognitive neuroscientist who focuses on human learning, appeared before Congress to discuss concerns about cognitive development in children. In his address to the members of Congress, he says, "A sad fact that our generation has to face is this: our kids are less cognitively capable than we were at their age. Since we've been standardizing and measuring cognitive development since the late 1800s, every generation has outperformed their parents, and that's exactly what we want. We want sharper kids."

kids, intelligence, sharp kids, generations, education, cognitive abilities Student smiling in a classroom, working on a laptop.Photo credit: Canva

Horvath explains that the reason this happens is that each generation has gone to school longer than the previous generation. Gen Z is no exception to the longer duration of time spent in school, but they're the first ones who aren't meeting this normal increase in cognitive development. According to the cognitive neuroscientist, the decline is due to the introduction of screens in the classroom, which started around 2010.

"Across 80 countries, as Jean was just saying, if you look at the data, once countries adopt digital technology widely in schools, performance goes down significantly. To the point where kids who use computers about five hours per day in school for learning purposes will score over two-thirds of a standard deviation less than kids who rarely or never touch tech at school," Horvath reveals.

In most cases, the decline in performance doesn't result in better strategies. The neuroscientist shares that the standardized testing has been adjusted to accommodate lower expectations and shorter attention spans. This is an approach that educators, scientists, and researchers went to Capitol Hill to express wasn't working. But not every country is taking the approach of lowering standards to meet lowered cognitive ability. Denmark went in the opposite direction when it realized their students were slipping behind.

France24 recently interviewed educators in Denmark following their seemingly novel approach to students struggling with cognitive development. Since the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year, Denmark has not only been having students turn in their cellphones, but they've also taken tablets, laptops, and computers out of the classroom. No more digital learning for the majority of the school day. Danes went old school by bringing back physical textbooks, workbooks, and writing assignments. The results have been undeniable. Even the students can't seem to deny the success of the countrywide shift in educational approach.

"I think the biggest issue has been that, because we kind of got rid of the books and started using screens instead, that we've noticed that a lot of the kids have trouble concentrating, so it's pretty easy to swipe with three fingers over to a different screen and have a video game going, for example, in class," Copenhagen English teacher, Islam Dijab tells France24.

Now, instead of computers being part of every lesson, Denmark uses computers very sparingly and with strict supervision. One student says that it has been nice not having screen time at school because she loves to read and write. But it wasn't just the lack of attention span children were developing, they were also developing low self-esteem and poor mental health due to the amount of time spent on devices.

kids, intelligence, sharp kids, generations, education, cognitive abilities Students focused and ready to learn in the classroom.Photo credit: Canva

The data showing the negative impact of screens on teens' brains has prompted a nationwide change in Denmark that extends outside of the classroom. Afterschool activities are eliminating or extremely limiting electronic use. There is also a national No Phone Day that encourages everyone to put away their devices for the day, and Imran Rashid, a physician and digital health expert, is petitioning parliament to ban social media use for children under the age of 15. The no phone movement in Denmark is a nationwide effort that hopes to right the ship before another generation feels the effects.

From Your Site Articles
teens social media
EducationSchools
Business

Behavioral researcher says you can regain your composure during job interviews with one easy sip

Say “yes” when they offer you water.

job interview tips, public speaking, water, job interview, life hack
Photo credit: Canva

A glass of water could help you get the job.

Job interviews or any form of public speaking can easily trip a person up, even when they’re totally prepared. It’s human to get lost and go blank in the middle of a thought, or get stuck on a question you've been asked. Well, one expert says that your best ally in such situations is your glass of water.

Behavioral therapist Dr. Shadé Zahrai shared on her TikTok that the next time you go blank during a job interview or a presentation, pause and take a sip from a glass or bottle of water. This isn’t just to refresh your throat, but to buy you time to refresh your mind. Not only does taking a drink of water buy you time to get your mind refocused, but the pause psychologically resets the conversation overall.

@shadezahrai

When your mind goes blank, take a sip! Simple trick to buy yourself more time.

It also puts you back in control. Whomever you're talking to will politely wait for you to finish your sip, allowing you to get the first word in after you’ve regained your composure. This pause can also provide more control in that it forces the conversation to slow down so you can think it through and speak thoroughly and clearly. It eliminates the feeling of needing to match speedy or frantic energy that may have built up during the chat.

In a job interview, it’s likely that the interviewer will offer you water. Some people online have interpreted this gesture as a form of test or mind game, but its actually nothing to worry about in most cases. You won't be judged on whether you drink the water, and it's better to have it if you need it. Career experts also say that, whether you feel thirsty or not, the safest bet is to accept the offer of water during an interview.

Beyond potentially feeling parched or needing a moment to pause Zahrai suggests you should go ahead and say yes to an offering of water from your interviewer. In some cases, there is a psychological component to accepting an offer of a glass of water that increases your chances of getting the job.


@postupcareers

#careersandbeers is mixing in a water. Here are reasons to accept a water in a #jobinterview. #jobinterviewtips #mixinawater #jobinterviewprep

By accepting the water, you’re allowing your interviewer to feel like an accommodating guest. It creates a friendly give and take before you both sit down to discuss the job.

@joshotusanya

Job Interview Hack 😎 (Thoughts?) #interview #learnontiktok #interviewtips #joshosays

Furthermore, saying “no” to the water offer may unintentionally throw off the vibe since, polite or not, "no" is a rejection. That feeling could carry over into the interview, and you’ll go into it at a disadvantage. By saying “yes” to the water offer, however, your interviewer is more likely to take a shine to you. In short, your “yes” might just lead to a job offer down the line.

From Your Site Articles
job interview tips
BusinessEducation
Science

Helicopters dump 6,000 logs into rivers in the Pacific Northwest, fixing a decades-old mistake

Forty years ago, restoration workers thought logs were the problem. They were wrong.

river restoration, washington, river fish, restoration, Yakama Nation, indigenous land, indigenoues tribes, salmon, trout, pacific northwest
Photo credit: Canva

Restoration workers now see how "critical" wood is to the natural habitat.

For decades, river restoration in the Northwestern United States followed a simple rule: if you saw logs in the water, take them out. Clean streams were seen as healthy streams, fast-moving water was seen as optimal, and wood was treated like a "barrier" to natural processes, particularly those of the local fish.

Now, helicopters are flying thousands of tree trunks back into rivers to undo that thinking.

In central Washington, one of the largest river restoration efforts ever attempted in the region is underway. More than 6,000 logs are being placed along roughly 38 kilometers, or 24 miles, of rivers and streams across the Yakama Reservation and surrounding ceded lands.

Nearly 40 years ago, Scott Nicolai was doing the opposite kind of work, all in the name of restoration.

"(Back then) the fish heads — what I call the fisheries folks — we stood on the banks, and we looked at the stream," Nicolai, a Yakama Nation habitat biologist, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. "If we saw a big log jam, we thought, 'Oh, that's a barrier to fish. We want the stream to flow.'"

river restoration, washington, river fish, restoration, Yakama Nation, indigenous land, indigenoues tribes, salmon, trout, pacific northwest Fish find shelter for spawning in the nooks and crannies of wood. Photo credit: Canva

At the time, logs were removed in an effort to simplify the habitat. However, it soon became clear that wood provided vital "complexity," creating sheltered pockets for salmon and bull trout to spawn and supporting algae that feed aquatic insects. Logs also slow water, spread it across floodplains, and allow it to soak into the groundwater. That water is then slowly released back into streams, helping keep them flowing and cooler during hot, dry periods.

The consequences of removing this "critical part of the system" (in addition to overgrazing, railroad construction, and splash dam logging) were made all too clear over the years as the rivers dried up and wildlife populations declined.

"We're trying to learn from our mistakes and find a better way to manage," said Phil Rigdon, director of the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources.

That's why Nicolai is now helping lead a project for the Yakama Nation aimed at rebuilding river complexity by returning logs to their rightful place. Many of these streams are now unreachable by road, which is why helicopters are used. Logs are flown from staging areas and carefully placed at precise drop locations marked with pink and blue flagging tape.

river restoration, washington, river fish, restoration, Yakama Nation, indigenous land, indigenoues tribes, salmon, trout, pacific northwest Many of these streams are now unreachable by road, which is why helicopters are used.Photo credit: Canva

The wood comes from forest-thinning projects led by The Nature Conservancy and includes species such as Douglas fir, grand fir, and cedar. Although some of the timber could have been sold, it is instead being used as river infrastructure.

For tribal leaders, the work carries even deeper meaning. During the helicopter flights, they gathered along the Little Naches River for a ceremony and prayer.

river restoration, washington, river fish, restoration, Yakama Nation, indigenous land, indigenoues tribes, salmon, trout, pacific northwest Tribal leaders gathered by the Little Naches River for a ceremony and prayer.Photo credit: Canva

"It was very simple: to bring what was rightfully part of this land back to us," said former tribal chairman Jerry Meninick.

The aftermath of the original restoration project illustrates how human concepts, such as the belief in the superiority of "cleanliness," can be limited and sometimes cause more harm than good. The miracle of nature, however, is that when left to her own devices, she can heal herself.

From Your Site Articles
animals and wildlife
ScienceConservation
Mental Health

Procrastinators share the extremely strange cleaning methods that actually work for them

Have you ever tried "the jellyfish"?

cleaning, cleaning tips, cleaning hacks, productivity, productivity hacks, adhd, twitter, x, social media
Photo credit: Canva

Chronic procrastinators share their weird tricks for tidying up the house.

A lot of people struggle to keep their homes clean and tidy. It can be because they don't have the time, the know-how, or the ability to keep up with how quickly things get dirty again. But for many people, the biggest challenge is simply getting motivated to start. For those folks, finding the right approach can make a world of difference.

Social media users and mega-procrastinators are chiming in with their weird, quirky, and laughably inefficient cleaning strategies that actually work.

It started when an old viral cleaning hack, posted by a user named Pontifier on Hacker News, resurfaced on X:

"I have a cleaning technique I call ant mode. A colony of ants can accomplish a lot. They can move immense amounts of materials, and create well organized groupings of things.

In ant mode, I pick up one thing, and then I put it in a place it belongs. If I don't know where it belongs, I put it down with something else of the same type. I'm only ever picking up one thing, I'm only ever putting it down in one spot. I envision myself becoming a colony of ants.

It's very helpful when moving lots of things from one spot to another, and I pretend that I am one of multiple ants making the same trip back and forth. It's surprising how effective it is because there's no thought required. No second guessing. There's no wondering what to do next, it's just pick up something out of place and move where it belongs.

The best thing about ant mode, is that I can stop anytime, and I've accomplished something. Things are better than I found them."

The post on X went viral, racking up more than 300,000 views along with thousands of likes and comments.

People began confessing that "ant mode" sounded strikingly similar to habits they'd unknowingly picked up on their own.

"I do this all the time," a user replied. "Totally haphazard, no method, just clean something, put something away, wash [something], organize something. Totally at the mercy of whatever I happen to see in that exact moment. No order, no plan, just keep going. These are incredibly productive 10 minutes."

Others began chiming in with their own methods as well.

"The jellyfish"

User Sivori explained their own method, "the jellyfish," which involves wandering the house aimlessly while picking things up and tidying. It's not efficient, but it works.

"I call this action 'entropy walking', I walk from room to room never with hands empty and slowly decrease entropy," user Full Body Alchemist wrote.

Chaining tasks

Another form of structured wandering:

"Also you can 'chain' tasks together: return nail clippers to bathroom, oh shoot trash needs emptied, drop off the trash and notice a charger that should be in the bedroom. it's more efficient because now there's fewer wasted return trips," user Flat suggested.

"Kindred piles"

"I prefer the 'kindred piles' technique," user TheFutureIsDesigned added. "All items of Type A (let's say tools) go to pile A. Don't need to figure out what kind of tool it is or which specific drawer it should go into. First just pile up all the tools. Office supplies. Books. Cables-adapters-extension-cords: if it conducts electricity, it goes into a separate pile. Etc. Even if you don't have the storage space/subdivisions to super-organize everything, at least you have things grouped by properties."

The "GAP method"

"I do [something] similar, for similar reasons," user Thea Nyktos wrote. "I call it the GAP method. Grab, Assess, Put. Grab the nearest thing. Assess where it belongs. Put it there. Rinse and repeat as long as I have the energy."

Timers and counters

Some people swear that turning cleaning into a game or a race is the key to getting themselves motivated:

"I started saying I'll pick up 30 things and count items I put away until it's 30. Similar items or things next to each other count as one. Once I hit 30 it's noticeable cleaner and I'm usually in a good groove to keep going."

"Another trick is just to clean for 5 minutes, set a timer. everyone can spare 5 minutes. you will be amazed at how much you can pick up, how much space you can clear in that time."

One thing at a time

"This is how I get my kids to clean," user StarFox added. "Pick up ONE THING and put it away. Don't even look at everything else, just one thing. OK, good, now do ONE more thing.' And so on until the job is done. With four kids and two adults doing this, cleanup is a breeze."

If all of these methods sound horribly inefficient, that's kind of the point.

"Ant mode" has been a popular idea in ADHD subreddits and other forums for a few years now. It strikes a chord with people who have trouble completing a task from start to finish.

The general concept lines up with how most experts agree people with ADHD should approach cleaning and other tasks. They're often advised to use timers and gamification for short bursts of motivation and to work in "sprints" rather than long, sustained periods. This isn't necessarily because they can't focus, but because the idea of tackling a huge, multi-pronged task (like cleaning the entire house, for example) can be so overwhelming that it causes their brain to slip into a kind of paralysis.

You know what's not overwhelming? Picking up one thing and putting it away.

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Though there is a strong link between the two, not all chronic procrastinators have ADHD, and vice versa. However, there is a lot of overlap when it comes to helpful strategies for both groups.

Some users in the X thread shared how being too focused on efficiency and perfection can ultimately cause them to get nothing done:

If you're not a procrastinator by nature and don't struggle with task paralysis, unstructured, inefficient techniques like the jellyfish or ant mode might seem extremely bizarre. But as the old expression goes, "don't let perfect be the enemy of good." For some people, just getting started at all is already a massive victory.

From Your Site Articles
cleaning
Mental HealthHealth
Education

A cool neuroscience trick makes it easy to tell if people are actually listening to you

The eyes can't lie.

wine, couple, eye contact, blonde lady, smiling woman, starting into eyes
via Canva/Photos

A man and woman making eye contact.

Have you ever been talking to someone at a party and noticed that, instead of looking you in the eyes while you're speaking, they keep peering over your shoulder? It can feel insulting, because it sends a clear signal: I'm not paying attention to you.

That's an obvious sign someone isn't listening. But what if you're talking to someone and want to know whether they're actually taking in the information and enjoying what you have to say, rather than just smiling and nodding along? Researchers at Concordia University recently conducted a study suggesting you can tell when someone is truly listening by paying close attention to their eyes.

How to tell when people are actually listening to you

Researchers found that when people are intently listening, they blink less.

"We don't just blink randomly," Pénélope Coupal, an honors student at the Laboratory for Hearing and Cognition, said. "In fact, we blink systematically less when salient information is presented."

Co-author Mickael Deroche, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology, adds, "Our study suggests that blinking is associated with losing information, both visual and auditory."

couple, eye contact, blonde lady, smiling woman, starting into eyes A man and woman making eye contact.via Canva/Photos

Researchers found that blinking isn't just tied to eyesight, but also to mental processing. When we try to focus on information in a distracting environment, we tend to blink less. In the study, participants wore eye-tracking glasses, and their blink rate slowed when they were listening to sentences compared with moments of silence between them.

So if you're speaking with someone at a party and notice they're staring at you intently and blinking slowly, chances are you have their full attention. Researchers do warn, however, that not everyone has the same blink rate, as some people naturally blink more often than others. Because of that, a better way to judge whether someone is listening is to notice whether their blinking slows down compared with their usual rate.

How to tell if someone is attracted to you

The research supports the idea that when people are attracted to someone, their blink rate tends to decrease.

Chase Hughes, a former U.S. Navy chief who specializes in interrogation skills and nonverbal analysis, writes on Medium that "blink-rate decreases when someone is interested in a person or topic. An increased or increasing blink-rate is indicative of a loss of interest or a response to stressful stimuli."

@marczell

Watch her blink rate. Less = locked in. 👀 #CIAProfiler #HumanProfiling #chasehughes #marczellklein #profiling #datingadvice #attraction

So what's the best way to determine whether someone is attracted to you? Hughes says to pay close attention to their gaze.

"[The] Number one way is, do they blink less often when you talk? Is their blink rate slowing down?" he told Marczell Klein on the Breakthrough Podcast. "And when somebody is really focused on someone else, you're gonna see their pupils dilate almost all the time. And you've probably seen that many times. And you're gonna see that blink rate start going down. They're gonna blink less and less often."


eye contact, brown-ahired lady, smiling woman, starting into eyes, man in a beanie A man and woman making intense eye contact.via Canva/Photos

It's hard being stuck in a conversation with someone who isn't listening, but it's great to have tools that can help you determine whether you're really getting through to them or if their mind is elsewhere.

Understanding the blink-rate theory can help you adjust how you communicate mid-conversation. If the other person is blinking rapidly and seems distracted, it may be a good cue to change what you're saying or how you're saying it. And if they're clearly not offering the common courtesy of listening, know it's time to excuse yourself so you can find someone who truly cares.

From Your Site Articles
listening skills
EducationLearning
Trending Stories