My movie of choice is Hidden figures, realeased on january 6.2017.

The movie is fiction,

but is based on true events. According To NASA,Hidden Figures is a movie based on actual

events. While the movie dramatizes some aspects, it is true to the struggles of the women at the

center of the story. The victories for racial and gender rights were not achieved easily or quickly,

and our work is not done. Today, NASA strives to make sure their legacy of inclusion and

excellence lives on.As seen in the movie Hidden Figures, NASA has a long-standing cultural

commitment to excellence that is largely driven by data, including data about our people. And

our data shows progress is driven by questioning our assumptions and cultural prejudices—by

embracing and nurturing all the talent we have available, regardless of gender, race or other

protected status, to build a workforce as diverse as its mission. This is how we, as a nation, will

take the next giant leap in exploration. This shows the importance of inclusion in the workplace.

[1]

In the movie, one of the most captivating scenes is when Taraji P. Henson who plays

Katherine Johnson, is confronted by her boss,who asks her why she is always away from her

desk, her response ;

“There’s no bathroom for me here. (What do you mean there’s no bathroom?). There is no
bathroom. There are no colored bathrooms in this building. Or any building outside the West
Campus, which is half a mile away. Did you know that? I have to walk to Timbuktu just to
relieve myself. And I can’t use one of the handy bikes. Picture that, Mr. Harrison. My uniform.
Skirt below my knees, my heels, and a simple string of pearls. Well, I don’t own pearls. Lord
knows you don’t pay colored enough to afford pearls! And I work like a dog, day and night,
living off of coffee from a pot none of you wanna touch. So, excuse me if I have to go to the
restroom a few times a day.” [2]. Wow, what a wonderful response! Segragation, African
American rights, women rights, so much to unpack in such a shaky time. The response of her
leader,Al Harrison, was to destroy the colored sign, he states that at NASA there will be no
segragation, stating we all “pee”yellow. It was a beautiful scene. NASA was known for it’s
inclusive workplace enviorment, ending segragation in 1958. We have evolved so much from
those times, but much is still needed to be done. Some statistics of the pay gap that still exist are
as follows;Overall, women are paid less than men. On average, women working full-time, year-
round are paid 84% of what men are paid. In other words, the typical woman working full-time
would need to work from January 1, 2023, until March 12, 2024, to make what the typical man
working full-time made in 2023. This wage gap also persists within all major race and ethnic
groups. For instance, Hispanic women ($41,137 median annual salary) make 13% less than
Hispanic men ($47,420 median annual salary). This inequity is even greater for Black and
Hispanic women when compared to white, non-Hispanic men. [3]

The definition of pluralism assumes that diversity is beneficial to society and that
autonomy should be enjoyed by disparate functional or cultural groups within a society,
including religious groups, trade unions, professional organizations, and ethnic minorities. In the
movie, Katherine is one of the key factors in the safe return of Jhon Glenn, from his misson to
space.The movie shows how lack of inclusion can be risky, even deadly.An inclusive workplace
is a successful workplace because it instills opportunity, belonging, and allows for qualified
individuals to aquire postions in the workplace, that otherwise, would have went to an
unqualified or under qualified individual on the basis of gender or race.

In the film Mary jackson goes to court to enter a plea so she can take a class at Hampton
High School so she can become an engineer. Board of Education VS Brown had already
overturned Plessy VS Ferguson but the judge said that virginia was a segrated state and it did not
matter what federal government said. Despite this, Mary Jackson gives an inspirational argument
that convinces the judge and he allows her to take the class at night. This is a victory!

This film depicts challenges that still occur today. The disparities in wages amd

discrimination of minority groups, all of which we have discussed in this class. The film does a

good job in showing the injustices and demonstrating how an Inclusive workplace is

fundamental to buisnesses and its employees.The movie reveals to us, the opresion that these
minorities groups were subject to. A weakness of the film is that it condensed so many events in

one. The film is a Fiction drama therefore, we shouldnt expect a word for word account of the

events that occured.I enjoyed the movie and learned so much.Due to the projected timeline of the

film, most of the cases we have covered are after this time. Still we can guage how much things

have changed, and will continue to do so. Another important takeaway from this movie, is that

we must persists in that,which we are good at, and always do our best. The women in this film

had all the odds stacked agaisnt them, but they still pushed through, still gave their best and

ended up with great results. With determination and persistence we can go great lengths.

[1]https://www.nasa.gov/from-hidden-to-modern-figures/

[2]https://everydaywomandotblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/27/monologue-of-the-day-no-
bathrooms-for-me-here-from-hidden-figures/

[3]https://blog.dol.gov/2024/03/12/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-gender-wage-gap