Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kathryn Janeway

by Ellie Littlechild

1. The "Janeway" Effect

Dana Scully X-files X files
Fox

Many people will be familiar with the concept of the “Scully Effect”, whereby the creation and portrayal of The X-Files’ FBI Special Agent Dana Scully has been attributed to the increase of many young women seeking careers within fields of science, engineering, medicine and law.

While Scully might have been the catalyst for this labelled phenomenon, Starfleet Captain Kathryn Janeway graced our screens during this same period in the mid-1990s and has also been identified, by many women in the space and science fields, as a major influence on their career paths. 

Most notably, Janeway became the first Star Trek character to be “cosplayed” in actual space. In April 2015, Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti tweeted a photo from onboard the International Space Station, wearing a Voyager-era Star Trek uniform with the caption “There's coffee in that nebula' ... ehm, I mean... in that #Dragon.”

The photo showed a Dragon space capsule outside the space station which contained the ISSpresso - the first space espresso machine - which Cristoforetti later installed and again posted about, this time with the caption “‘Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised.’ Fresh espresso in the new Zero-G cup! To boldly brew…” 

The impact of Kathryn Janeway upon women in the STEM industry was so influential that Kate Mulgrew - despite the fact that she was an actress and not actually the captain of a starship - was invited to The White House in 1995 to give a speech to various women working in science.

In more recent politics, Captain Janeway was also cited as a major influential figure for US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - the youngest woman to serve in Congress - who stated in an interview with Stephen Colbert that: 

"My dad felt it very important for me to watch [Star Trek Voyager] because he wanted me to see an example of a woman in leadership,"

The level of impact and influence of this character, 30 years later, is surely Captain Janeway's greatest legacy. 

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.