IBM launched a Twitter campaign asking women in tech to do the #HackAHairDryer experiment where women should provide answers to how a hair dryer could be used in an alternative way.
IBM also created a video with a hair dryer with women in lab coats. The video showed alternative ways in using the hair dryer by forcing ping pong balls in tubes. It was a relatively compelling video but this did not show engineering at its best, Fortune reported.
IBM was immediately slammed after releasing the campaign as women began claiming the inappropriateness of the experiment. Thousands of users responded to IBM saying a hair dryer is not the thing that "matters in science" for women, according to The Guardian.
A user tweeted, "@IBM shame I don't use a hairdryer. I guess that's the end of my career in STEM. Brb quitting my astrophysics PHD."
Another user also tweeted, "That's ok @IBM, I'd rather build satellites instead, but good luck with that whole #HackAHairDryer thing."
Although the tech company has been immensely criticized by the event, Stacey Higginbotham from Fortune noted that at some point, the experiment could have been effective.
To attract more women into science, the fields should make it more relatable to them. And for other women and girls, a hair dryer is their connection.
University of Texas' Women in Engineering Program director Tricia Berry has completed a similar experiment. They originally created tooth brush bots with monitors and switched to butterfly robot designs when they tried to reach out to girls. The two bots used the same mechanism, but the butterfly bots had an increased participation.