The ‘Women That Add Up’ necktie is inspired by the women from the acclaimed story by author Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Christine Darden were an integral part of the mathematics department at NASA’s Langley laboratory. 

Katherine Johnson excelled in school, skipping grades to graduate from high school at 14 and college at 18. Her work at NASA spanned from 1953 to 1986 where she was instrumental in every major spaceflight program. In 2015, Katherine was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2016, NASA dedicated a research facility in her honor. The necktie print includes a capsule representative of astronaut, John Glenn’s Friendship Seven mission, which is the infamous mission where Glenn asked to ‘get the girl’, meaning Katherine Johnson, to check the calculations before he felt comfortable launching into space.

Dorothy Vaughan, in 1949, became one of the first African-American woman supervisors of the West Area Computers, comprised entirely of African-American women mathematicians. She helped advance the careers of Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson. Dorothy taught herself to become one of the first computer programmers and remained with NASA for 28 years.

Mary Jackson had a degree in mathematics and physical science. After starting as a teacher, she joined NASA to begin her career as a research mathematician. She reached the highest level of engineer during her 34 years at NASA, analyzing data from wind tunnel and aircraft flight experiments.

Dr. Christine Darden was a leader in Sonic Boom Technology. She began her career at NASA in 1967 as a data analyst and was later promoted to AeroSpace Engineer. While working she also earned her PhD in Fluid Mechanics. Dr. Darden had an illustrious 40 year career at NASA where she influenced aviation technology.

Necktie details:

• 3” wide and 68” long
• 100% silk
• Spot clean or dry clean only
• Made in USA by a female-run production house 
• Includes an illustrated storyboard featuring the accomplishments of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden
• Packaged in a keepsake box