Microsoft’s new ad campaign poses one simple question: Can you name any female inventors?
The young science-loving girls featured in the spot can rattle off a list of male inventors like Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison, but are completely stumped when asked to name a single female creator. “In school it was always a male inventor, I just realized,” said one girl. The ad points out that not everything in this world was “man”-made and proceeds to list some of the many, many female inventors who often go unrecognized for their contributions to the science and tech world. Women like Mary Anderson, who invented windshield wipers; Ada Lovelace, who wrote the first-ever computer algorithm; and Gertrude Belle Elion, who created important drugs that battle HIV, malaria and leukemia.
The ad, pegged to International Women’s Day, encourages the next generation of young women to get out there and invent and #makewhatsnext.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- The Revolution of Yulia Navalnaya
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- What's the Deal With the Bitcoin Halving?
- If You're Dating Right Now , You're Brave: Column
- The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet
- Fallout Is a Brilliant Model for the Future of Video Game Adaptations
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com