Know How 17 YO Ilina Can Help You Identity Gender Bias In Stories You Read

Ilina Singh wrote her first book, The Gutsy Girls of Science, at 15. Now working on her next focusing on women and their struggles. Singh is not just a published author but a computer programmer too. She loves applying her coding skills to real-life problems. A winner of Google Code2Learn, Singh has also worked out a website, which helps the reader figure out gender bias in books. Singh feels women usually end up playing small roles in someone else’s stories and men get to have adventures. 

In an interview with SheThePeople.TV, Ilina Singh, a teen author discusses her book, and her website- Reading Mirrors, which detects gender bias in books. Singh talks about the inspiration behind the book and the challenges she navigated during her journey. 

 1. How you started your journey as an Author? 

I’ve been writing stories since I was very young. Winning The Times of India contest judged by my beloved Ruskin Bond was a turning point. I went on to win the annual essay writing contest by UNESCO twice. Holding the book of winning entries with my essay inside and being invited to the felicitation ceremony were amazing experiences. I’ve always thought of myself as a storyteller and these formative experiences fed my dreams.

2. What made you choose the science theme book?

At school, I loved science, but it struck me that I never read about scientists who look like me – female and Indian. Madam Curie continues to be the only reference point of a woman in science. Then, I came across news stories and a tweet by Union minister Smriti Irani which had pictures of 11 women scientists who had been recognized by the Indian government. As I read about them, I was moved and inspired. I started writing their stories to share them with young children like me. I also illustrated these with watercolour portraits of the scientists.

3. Tell us how did you choose profiles for your book?

The 11 scientists in my book are all high achievers who shattered societal barriers. The Indian government honoured them by establishing Chairs at Indian universities after them. However, behind their scientific achievements were compelling human stories filled with challenges and triumphs which were perfect for young readers. Science should be fun, not boring.

4. What Is Reading Mirrors? What made you create the website?

One word – representation. Have you noticed how, in many books, women usually end up playing small roles in someone else’s stories? Men get to have discoveries, adventures, and achievements while women end up supporting them in domesticity. Unfortunately, the seeds of gender bias are sown early through textbooks around the world. 

I wanted to provide a free service that parents, educators, and children themselves could use to scan a story for gender bias and then take an informed decision about whether it is a suitable read.  

Since I am also a coder, I thought NLP – a branch of machine learning- was the best tool to create this. At a very basic level, it scans a story for the ratio of male vs. female characters. Also, it throws up the ratio of males vs females who are associated with a profession. Using these gives the user an idea about the kind of gender stereotypes a story presents.

5. How do you think this will benefit readers?

It will empower readers to make informed choices using tech. I want to start a conversation about how the stories young children read impact their worldviews deeply. If a Math book always shows a man going to the bank and a woman buying vegetables, what does it say about family roles to a child? When our textbooks don’t carry any stories of women in science, it robs a generation of female role models in STEM. I hope to present this in an objective, easy-to-use, and free tool on the website for getting the ball rolling on this important discussion.

6. What has been the feedback from the audience?

The book has got so much love from national media and readers alike that I am overwhelmed. There has been a lot of excitement around the experiment demonstrations I do with children. I have had an opportunity to meet kids from underserved communities and connect with them. I especially treasure the letter of encouragement I received from our Prime Minister at the start of my journey as a writer – it validated my thinking and kept me going.

Gutsy Girls of Science Author On Gender Bias

7. At such a young age, how did you come across terms like gender bias and understood the complexities of it?

The word gender bias didn’t mean much to me at first. I was told that I could be anyone I wanted to be if I worked hard for it. A chance conversation with my grandmother opened my eyes – she was a good student, but her parents did not agree with her dream of pursuing engineering. They did not consider it an appropriate career for a girl. I could see the hurt that she still carries from that. It was a penny-drop moment for me.

We’ve come a long way now – my mother is an engineer - but there still appears to be a tacit understanding that math and STEM subjects are too tough and perhaps better suited to boys. The biases now are more implicit. I saw this first-hand when I was one of the few girls in my Math Society sessions and coding classes; interestingly the situation flipped in my art class which had hardly any boys. Science, and education in general, must have more female role models introduced early, especially during the critical age of 13-17 years when girls decide their subject choices. 

We can’t be what we can’t see. I remember being very excited by the famous women of ISRO who helped put Mangalyan in space. They looked so comfortable in their skin with their gajras and saris and shattered all caricatures people have in their minds about the absent-minded scientist.

8. What barriers you broke as a part of your journey? What challenges did you face while writing the book and creating the website?

The first barriers we break are inside our minds. Once I knew I wanted to create awareness about the fantastic female role models, I embraced my journey. Do you know what they say about the Universe conspiring to make your dreams come true? Well, it happened for me, and looking back it's unreal how support and guidance came from all corners.

9. How did your parents support you in achieving your dreams? In general, how does parental support help kids in fulfilling their dreams?

My parents are partly responsible for my writing. They cut the cable early when they saw me glued to mindless cartoons. My house is overflowing with books and dinner table conversations centered around what we read that day. My indulgent teachers have been gentle when I’ve been caught in class with storybooks. I had no choice but to turn out a bibliophile. My mom encouraged me to experiment and discover what gave me joy. 

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10. What is the conversation around gender equality that we need to start much earlier to bring about a change at the grassroots level in society?

Children can see through the slogans and posturing quickly and can understand what behaviour is valued and rewarded. You know the advice given to writers – show, don’t tell? It applies here too. We need to see gender equality roles to believe in the worth of women. At home and most importantly, in the textbooks, we read as children. We have had so many women warriors, freedom fighters, scholars, educators, businesswomen, and leaders but we never read about them as children. Their stories can spark a million dreams and kindle belief and hope in the hearts of young girls and their parents alike. I want to play my part in making it happen.

11. Where do you see yourself next? What are your future endeavours?

I have completed the draft of my next book – it’s a book on women leaders of India. While leadership is a buzzword, few resources exist for girls to develop their leadership styles consciously at a young age. I guess you can see a pattern here. I love doing things that amplify the strength of our community by telling the stories of strong women.

Creative writing, gender balance, art, and math are my chosen passions and I hope I can continue to serve the community while drawing on my strengths.