Megha Mohan is a writer.
The gender and identity correspondent.
The image is from Tyler Small.
The image caption is.
Only a few people can learn science, which is why we look at it as an elite field. Ms Chapple says that's not true.
Cynthia Chapple assumed that she would be the one taking the photo when she was asked to help out with a photograph of a research professor and his staff. The professor was going to use the image for a grant application.
Ms Chapple didn't work directly with his team and had minimal interactions with them. She was pulled in front of the camera when she arrived to take the photo. She smiled for the picture, but realized she was not happy.
The research team were all white men, and she was the only black woman in the photo.
"This was an example of 'Photoshop' diversity, when black women are used for photo opportunities, and I was being used to show he worked in an inclusive team and to secure him funding." I was embarrassed.
The young man grew up in the south side of Chicago.
She grew up in a large family with seven siblings. Her parents worked as security guards and nursing assistants. Cynthia's school, her family and friends were just five minutes away and she spent her evenings exploring the neighbourhood.
Black Girls do science.
The image caption is.
Cynthia Chapple came up with the idea for a club to get more women interested in science. Black Girls Do STEM became an after-school community.
She says she would make lists of ways to improve the neighbourhood and write up proposals for what to replace the liquor stores with. I was gathering data.
When she was nine years old, a particularly passionate teacher inspired her to love math.
I wanted to impress Mr Estes, a young black teacher. He was my entry into the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
She fell in love with him after he introduced her to science summer camps.
She was the only black girl in those clubs. There weren't a lot of activities in my neighborhood. I left my south side community to get exposure to certain activities.
She left the south side of Chicago to find more women interested in science, technology, engineering and math. She was studying for her bachelor's degree in chemistry at Purdue University. She went to another university to study for her masters.
She says that she was one of two American-born Black students.
She noticed a trend when she was a research chemist. She didn't see women of colour rising to higher ranks in US academia.
Cynthia believes that the situation is down to the "Intersectional leak", which is a metaphor for the loss of competent women from senior positions in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The image is from Tyler Small.
The image caption is.
Black people make up 9% of the total workforce in the US, according to data from 2021.
Researchers say that women and women of colour face many barriers and obstacles to advancement in their fields, and that the 'leaky pipeline' refers to them.
According to a report from the year 2021, black people make up 9% of the US's total workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
White women make up 23.4% of tenured university teaching staff in the US, while women of colour make up 2.3%.
Cynthia had an idea while doing her masters that she would create a club to encourage more women to enter the world of science. She now lives in St Louis, Missouri, where Black Girls Do STEM became an after-school community.
The aim of the club is to give black girls from inner-cities the chance to emotionally engage with science and apply it to real life.
She says that the classes are designed around what the students like, what they need, and their interests.
The classes used to be held in person but have moved online during the Pandemic.
She says they want it to be an experience.
Black Girls Do STEM is a program that has around a hundred girls participating. The scheme has been expanded to include more black women science mentors and classes to teach the girls about resilience.
Black Girls do science.
The image caption is.
St Louis is where Black Girls do STEM is located. There are plans to expand across a bigger area.
"As a young Black woman, you need a range of tools to succeed in the workplace and we want to equip the girls for more than academic success," she says.
More than 160 girls have expressed an interest in taking classes in 2022, and Cynthia hopes to scale this further throughout the country.
She says that inner city urban communities allow for creativity. We find creative solutions to problems because we have more noise, pollution, and people. Some of the best music and fashion can be found in our communities. We may have the best minds.
Ms Chapple wants to change the reputation of science.
Only a few people can learn science, which is why we look at it as an elite field. She says that it's not true that you have to start early and give kids a foundation.
The story is part of a series called Generation Change.
Cynthia's story is one of many from other young people in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics that can be heard on The Documentary.
There is diversity.
It is chemistry.
The prize is called the Nobel Prize.
The communities of black people.
Engineering.
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