FIRST Ladies
 

This is a group for team members and mentors that are women. It's a place for women to communicate with others world wide and ask questions. We are also ordering shirts. So, if your interested in joining our group, ordering a shirt, or want more information please visit our website www.ladiesinFIRST.com.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

posted on 1912 facebook page. we need to do all we can and use all our resources to support the young women of FIRST. keep this thread going.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

Well, I officially feel old.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

How do gentlemen go about supporting FIRST Ladies? (besides spreading the word)

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

I joined and supported by buying two shirts!

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

All I can think about is spreading the word. Just try getting new members, and mentors to join. The more the merrier.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

I know, right?!? I remember the days of the RCU :D

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

What are the goals of this group? I've seen other groups fizzle out because they have no defined goals/purposes besides "We're girls!".

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

Our long term goal is to create a community of powerful girls and women in FIRST that can use each other to network, find support, and build relationships. Our short term goals are, seeking out other teams to mentor or advise, finding job/mentorship opportunities, and we are always seeking new members.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

Then I'm in :)

Will you have a formal mentoring system set up such that students/younger members can request a mentor with maybe x,y,z qualities and one is assigned or do you hope for students/mentors to forge their own relationships?

Are you actively reaching out to women in FIRST to participate as being mentors to younger girls? There are some strong women in FIRST I can think of that others would be inspired by like I have.

I think this group could really beneficial in helping girls network and I really hope it maintains as much structure/organization as it appears to have/I think it has.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

I'm just going to jump in here.. :)

Right now we're in the VERY new stages of just establishing connections with people, writing blogs, selling t-shirts, etc. But yes, in the future we would absolutely like to have exactly the kind of system you are describing that puts teams/alumni/mentors in the same area in contact with each other.

We are doing the best we can to spread the word about FIRST Ladies, but most of our promotion is taking place through our members at the moment. We are trying really hard to keep ourselves as organized as possible, so we are rolling things out slowly so it doesn't get too overwhelming for people..

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

This sounds really cool! Our club has a division called RobochiXX, which has many of the same objectives as you. They are also getting organized for the school year, but as the main CD contact for CircuitRunners, I just wanted to let you know that they have seen this and are interested in making connections with y'all. Just giving you a heads up :p

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

They can email us at ladiesinfirst@gmail.com or go to ladiesinfirst.com to get links to the Facebook group, Twitter, etc :)

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

You can always purchase a t-shirt too! Yes you aren't technically a "FIRST lady" but I see it as wearing a superfan or another teams shirt. You wear it to show your support! And of course moral support and spreading the word is always appreciated!! I think the most important thing is treating women in FIRST equally and with respect. That has the most long term impact in my opinion.

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

I would love to help support this! I will spread the word to all the Long Island teams and as many New England teams as I can. This is great! :D

On a side note... Holding small events at each FIRST event is another great way to spread the word. At the SBPLI (Long Island Regional) event in 2012 we did a luncheon for girls. A few mentors came and spoke about what they did in engineering and how we can get more girls involved in FIRST. It was really great to meet more girls and have contacts on other teams!

Re: FIRST Ladies
 

Why do we keep reinventing the wheel? Check out the Robot Chicks Union (RCU) forum here on CD - unfortunately I think the group is dormant but for many years was an active group with similar goals as FIRST Ladies. Since it was a recognized group with some of us old-timers, it might have been better to resurrect it rather than start yet another group to support females in FIRST.