Please do not call your local TV meteorologist a ‘weather girl’

These three female meteorologists are taking a stand against the “weather girl” stigma, and we’re in full support! Janice Huff, who reports the weather on WNBC, New York; Jen Carfagno, who does so on The Weather Channel; and Ginger Zee from Good Morning America and ABC World News Tonight are all STEM pioneers and degree-toting scientists. And although they analyze and report the weather to millions daily via television, please don’t call them “weather girls.”

Women in STEM aren’t taken as seriously as men who share the same interest. Even in movies, the smart girls trade in their glasses and textbooks for shorter skirts and boyfriends. It’s a battle that women in STEM know all too well. And Huff, Carfagno, and Zee want to end the stereotype…now.

The female meteorologists are leading the charge to end the “weather girl” stigma once and for all.

In a statement shared with Teen Vogue, The Weather Channel meteorologist Jen Carfagno explained how the “weather girl” label came to be:

“The ‘weather girl’ label came about in the 1950s when the TV ratings race was accelerating. And, weather was seen as a way to provide entertainment. Male meteorologists had a parallel label to shake-off — that of the goofy, comedic weather guy."

And while male meteorologists were able to shake their goofy rep, their female counterparts weren’t.

Good Morning America meteorologist Ginger Zee agrees. And she wants to use her platform to show young girls that they can be scientists, too!

"Women on television can also be scientists. It's that simple and that is my goal, inspiring kids in science, especially young women, so that we make female scientists less of an anomaly, Zee said.

Zee, Huff, and Carfagno will be diving into all things women in STEM on The Weather Channel’s upcoming special Wx Geeks, which will air on Sunday, January 29th and Sunday, February 5th.