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In Hidden Figures, There is a scene where Paul Stafford stops Katherine Johnson from entering into the meeting.
Paul Stafford: There is no protocol for women attending.
Katherine Johnson: There's no protocol for a man circling the Earth either, sir.
Later, she is allowed by Alan into the meeting.
There is another scene where we can see control room filled with only men:
Later Alan welcomes Katherine into the Friendship 7 Control Room.
Why is there is a restriction for women in NASA?
Why is there is a restriction for women in NASA?
It was the culture of the time in the US.
In the late 1950's and early 1960's women weren't treated as equals in the workplace (I won't get into how that has progressed since as it's a much wider subject).
Professional roles such as scientists and mathematicians were almost exclusively male and white in 1960's America.
The fact was that in 1962 most "professional" positions for women would have been secretarial or the like. The most a woman could expect in the way of supervisory or managerial positions would have been in charge of other women. Mrs Mitchell in Hidden Figures is a prime example right in this movie.
Rising to positions of authority or roles outside of the norm would have been most unusual...at the time...unless the woman was exceptionally talented and given the opportunity....and a level playing field.
