Pearl Young, second from left, at NACA’s Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in 1927. Credit NASA Langley Archives
Thirteen years before any other woman joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics — or NACA, NASA’s predecessor — in a technical role, a young lab assistant named Pearl Young was making waves at the agency. Her legacy as an outspoken and persistent advocate for herself and her team would pave the way for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for decades to come.
My interest in Young’s story is rooted in my identity as a woman in a STEM field. I find strength in sharing the stories of women who have made a lasting impact in STEM. I am the director of the NASA-funded North Dakota Space Grant Consortium, where we aim to foster an open and welcoming environment in STEM disciplines. Young’s story is one of tenacity despite setbacks, standing up for herself and others, and building a community of support.
Address challenges from the start
Young was a scientist, educator, technical writer, and researcher. Born in 1895, she was no stranger to the barriers women faced at the time.
In the early 20th century, college degrees in STEM fields were considered “less suitable for women,” and graduates with these degrees were considered unconventional women. Professors who agreed to mentor women in advanced STEM fields in the 1940s and 1950s were often accused of communism.
In 1956, the National Science Foundation even published an article entitled: “Women are NOT for engineering.”
Despite society’s sexist standards, Young earned a bachelor’s degree in 1919 with a triple major in physics, mathematics, and chemistry, with honors, from the University of North Dakota. He then began his decade-long career in STEM disciplines.
Become a technical editor
Despite the hostile culture towards women, Young has successfully held several technical roles at NACA. With his varied experience, he worked in different divisions – physics, instrumentation and aerodynamics – and soon noticed a trend across the agency. Many of the reports written by his colleagues were not well written enough to be useful.
In a 1959 interview, Young spoke of his start at NACA: “Those were fruitful years. I was interested in good writing and suggested the need for a technical writer. The engineers had no shortage of time to write readable reports.”
Three years after making his suggestion, Young was reassigned in 1935 to the newly created role of assistant technical editor in the publications section. After six years in that role, Young earned the title of associate technical editor in 1941.
In 1941, the NACA established the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory, now known as the NASA Glenn Research Center, in Cleveland. This new field center needed experienced employees, so two years later NACA leadership invited Young to head a new technical editing section there.
It was at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory that Young published his most important technical work, the Style Manual for Engineering Authors, in 1943. NASA’s History Office even referred to Young as the architect of the NACA technical reporting system .
Young’s style manual allowed the agency to communicate technological progress around the world. This manual included specific formatting rules for technical writing, which would increase consistency for engineers and researchers reporting their data and experimental results. It was essential for efficient World War II operations and was translated into multiple languages.
But it was only after this publication that Young finally received a promotion to full technical editor, 11 years after expressing his need for that role at the agency. He was the first person to fill this role, but he had to start at the assistant level, then move up to the associate level before receiving the full designation of technical writer.
Pearl Young raises hell
Perhaps the most noteworthy part of Young’s story is his character. While advocating for herself and her colleagues, Young often had to challenge authority.
She defended her editing section when male supervisors falsely accused them of making mistakes. He wrote official proposals to properly classify his office in the research division at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory. He regularly recognized the contributions of his entire team to shared results.
He also secured extra staff to reduce unbearable workloads and wrote official memoranda to ensure his colleagues earned rightful promotions. Young often referred to these actions as “raising hell.”
The archival documents I have analyzed indicate that Young’s performance at the NACA was exemplary throughout his career. In 1967, she was awarded the University of North Dakota’s prestigious Sioux Award in recognition of her professional achievement and service to the university.
In 1995, and again in 2014, NASA’s Langley Research Center dedicated a theater in his name. The new theater is located in NASA’s Integrated Engineering Services Building.
In 2015, Young was inducted into the inaugural NASA/NACA Langley Hall of Honor. But over the course of his career, not all of his colleagues shared this complementary view of Young and his work.
In 1930 one of Young’s supervisors found it necessary to evaluate his “attitude” and suitability as an employee in his progress report – and justified his position by typing these additional words into the document himself.
That same year, Young requested time off – likely for the holiday season – prompting a different supervisor to draft an official memorandum for the engineer in charge, a position similar to NASA’s current center director. He referred to Young’s “attitude” in asking to use his vacation days.
Women are not welcome in STEM
While sexism in STEM has changed shape over time, gender inequalities still exist. Women in STEM disciplines often face microaggressions, marginalization, and hostile work environments, including pay disparity, lack of recognition, and expectations for additional services.
Women often lack supportive social networks and face other systemic barriers to career advancement, such as not being recognized as an authority figure, or the double standard of being perceived as too aggressive rather than a leader.
Women of color, women who belong to LGBTQ+ communities, and women who have one or more disabilities face even more barriers rooted in these intersectional identities.
One way to combat these inequities is to call attention to systemic barriers by sharing stories of women who have persisted in STEM disciplines – women like Pearl Young.
Caitlin Milera is an aerospace research assistant professor at the University of North Dakota. Receives funding from NASA.
The University of North Dakota provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
