Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I have absolutely no idea why there aren't more girls in robotics, science, and engineering.

I've always been a part of teams with lots of girls on them. I was the only guy on my team for both of my years in FV/TC. Then I went and joined a team that had more guys but still several girls involved in every part of the team (so not just the "girl roles" or whatever stereotype exists that I'm nto aware of). It just seems like something that's never really been an issue for any of my teams.

I don't see what's so intristically different about science and engineering that girls would be predisposed not to do. Girls certainly aren't "worse" at robotics; I've encountered just as many good and bad all (mostly) guys teams as all girls teams. It just seems weird that there would be that stigma to begin with.

I don't really understand how specifically "all girls teams" are seen as great, however. Getting more girls into engineering is just as nice as getting more of anyone into engineering, probably even nicer as we kind of have to make up for hidden gender bias in things. I just don't see why restricting guys from joining a team accomplishes this goal any better than by just encouraging more girls to join. Why an all-girls team gets more media attention than a team that's gone above and beyond to reach a female majority has always puzzled me, since most all girls teams are from all girls schools.

I intend no disrespect to teams made up of all girls, especially teams from all girl's schools. I just think that if there exists an all girls team that turns down guys wanting to participate then they are "doing it wrong".

Oh, quick comment to the Robettes above: You guys had a really great robot in 10,000 Lakes, and you guys shouldn't have been available when you were in the picking process (you guys were in the 7th seed right? I would have pinned you guys as a 4 or 5 team). Perhaps there are more hidden biases at work?

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

Chris,
You have made some good points and provided food for thought.
I've narrowed your quote down to this statement, not to argue with you or to dispute the thought, but to provide an opportunity for you to gain some insight from some girls' perspectives. The girls are current members and alumnae from Falcon Robotics, FRC 842.

The thread title is, We Left The Boys At Home. There is another thread called, We Left The Boys At Home II. I'll let you find that one if you are interested in reading it as well. In this thread that I'm introducing to the discussion, several pages were written regarding opinions about why 842 chose to do what they did. It was on the last page that the girls shared their views, perspectives, and opinions. It was not easy for them and they had to find the courage to do it. That is no small thing and should not be dissed or overlooked. Posting in ChiefDelphi can be very intimidating for anyone and going about the business of creating change and opportunity, knowing that it will open one to criticism and misunderstanding, can be difficult. I'd like to direct your attention to post 77 when Mabel begins writing. Then I would like to direct you to post 84. In post 84, several of the girls post their experiences and their thoughts. It would be my preference that you read the entire thread but 77 and 84 address the quote regarding wondering why all girls teams are seen as great. In my opinion, all girls teams are not great in themselves. It is their efforts, their commitment to the program/competition, and the team development - their journey - that can help them achieve greatness, if they work hard enough. But, I do understand and value the importance of the teams. Especially after spending some time looking through the lens that 842 has provided us in this thread.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I'm not sure if this is how it is at every high school, but at ours, there are a lot of reasons why girls don't go into robotics

1. Robotics is beaten down by EVERYONE at the two schools our team comes from. It is said to suck up resources, space, and money from the schools, which it does not. Everyone says sports are way more important than FIRST, and that our team is pointless and a waste of time. The only people in our school that even know we've won the championship, are already on the team.

2. Girls at our school can only be "popular" if they wear a certain style of clothing, act a certain way, and hang out with certain people. They have to either play soccer, basketball, lacrosse, or field hockey. They have to be attractive. At our school, joining the robotics team is "social suicide".

Overall, I think one of the problems is that girls are molded, at least in our society, to become nurses, house-wives, etc. Society as a whole looks down upon girls who want to be engineers. That's why FIRST is so important. It teaches kids that engineering is cool, and it is the future. FIRST is a sport to all of us, and it's fun. We just have to show girls, and people in general, that it isn't just for nerds. Robotics and engineering as a whole is for anyone who is interested in it.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

It could just be that some girls have no real interest in robotics. It could be that robotics and technology doesn't interest them. We could introduce girls to the side of robotics (the side the majority of teenagers don't know about), and maybe they will grow an interest in robotics. If they don't have an interest in robotics, we shouldn't force them to grow a liking. If they like it, they like it. If not, then that is their opinion, and I respect their opinion.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I'm going to keep this very short and sweet.

Why aren't there many girls in robotics? Simple, a lot just don't know that there is more to robots than going at pieces of aluminum all day. I think a lot of people miss the point that the great thing about FIRST and robotics is that it's just as important to realize that you don't want to do engineering as to realize that you do. All girls will have their reasons, and whether its "no i don't like getting dirty" to "i don't like math and science", there are also a boatload of reasons non-engineering related that show that they can do robotics as well.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

wow.... i though i would have to type out my opinion, but you nailed mine to a T!!!!

Honestly though, on 216/288 Robodawgs teams, we have 4 girls [including me]. next year, we are losing one, then in two years, we lose 2.... I am trying to convince a friend of mine to join.... She isn't sure she wants to, because she has no prior knowledge. I have tried to tell her that i didn't either at the beginning of this year. If it weren't for one or two people on my team, I would know nearly nothing, and I may have quit... O_O not fun!

whats worse is when people ignore what you are saying because you are a girl... :( geez I hope that stops, and that no one else has to go through that. its frustrating... even though we are "done" with the season, I will say that some comments still happen... though I have learned to ignore them ^^

oh well, thats my $ .02.....


PS... If any of this came out wrong/ mean sounding, I'm sorry.. apparently I have a way of wording things badly..



EDIT

oh yeah, nerds are the best people to talk to ^.^

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

Well, actually most girls who I talk to robotics about think that it's cool that I'm on a team.... I think though that they think 'wow cool, but I could never do that'. Maybe also they're just plain uninterested! I never actually worked on our robot (thought I would've loved to). I went to the meetings more to learn some 3ds Max stuff. I went to the BAE regional, but wasn't really sure why since I didn't know most of the kids on the team, but it turned out to be awesome! It doesn't hurt that we won :P haha.. we have about 5 girls on the team, give or take a couple (not sure of the exact count).

Since I'm a senior and will be going to school in Florida for computer animation, I'm hoping to become a mentor eventually! I love FIRST.

P.S. I have a thing for nerds :P :P :D

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

This year, we had 13 girls and 17 guys on the team. Many of our girls were not involved in build, which is something we are trying to change. We have one female mentor, 3 male mentors, 1 male teacher and 1 female teacher (me!). I'm definitely not a help with the technical side of things, but I do the other important jobs like making sure the robot is shipped. :)

I have high hopes for the future of the team - but would love to see more of our female students involved on the build side of the team!

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I have no clue, I love robotics.

The only creepy part was when I found out that at our regional, 80% of the guys wanted to "talk" to me. Creeppyyyyyy.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I think that the main reason why girls aren't joining robotics is the society teaches them that they have to try to fit in with the steryotypical 'girly-girl'. It's a shame, because I've seen some engineering designs from girls and they are REALY good, but they wont go into engineering because they would become socialy outcast(to which I reply, You'll gain acceptance from the other side of society). Sigh....

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I (as a girl) think that many other girls don't realize what they can do on a robotics team. On my team (122) we are "dominated" by girls apparently. We have 3 girls, just 3 out of the 15 boys we have.
I also think that many girls think that robotics is "just for boys" and that all the engineering stuff is "not fun". Yet, there are some teams (all girl) that come out and prove this all wrong and show just how many girls love robotics.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I am on an all-girls team and I enjoy it a lot. We do well and we have great dynamics. We are also lucky because we share a lab with an all-boys team so it turns out about equal. :)

We do a lot of activities with younger girls to try and keep them into science and technology. I (and many of my teammates) were lucky to go to a middle school that stressed science and technology for girls. It even had required CS and robotics courses.

But we find that a lot of girls who go to traditional middle schools stop paying attention to computers and robotics. They are given thousands of messages everyday from their classmates, the media and even their parents about what it means to be a girl, and to be "popular" and "pretty". It sometimes happens in elementary school but it's a lot rarer. We did a fundraiser where we taught 4th and 5th graders about 10 types of engineering. If they had been 6th and 7th graders we wouldn't have had anyone sign up. Instead we had nearly 80.

I think that this is something that we all need to work at. It's definitely improving in FIRST and a lot of girls I know are interested in technology, even if FIRST isn't necessarily their thing.

Also, I heard a rumor that there might be an all-girls regional this year, and I think that might be a good opportunity to see how other teams are doing at getting girls into robotics.

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

I remember when I first joined our high school robotics team, there were about 5-6 girls....and they were all on the PR team. During the next 2 years they started to move into other areas such as animation and construction. It was nice to see that over 10 girls were on the team and they were the ones that were working on the robot everyday.....what a change!

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

We have been taking data for two years and we are getting ready to write a report about our findings. We even had some other teams helping us take data this year at the Championships. Thanks you all!

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

Hey Jane you are almost leaking out the findings of our study! we have been taking data for two years and we are getting ready to write our report. I did not get to see you this year! I miss you!

Re: Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?
 

The reason that I hear a lot is that I don't have the patience for that, or that's for nerds, and all kinds of that. I find it interesting that on our team we have 2 girls as captains, Bekah and myself. I am also the only girl on our build team (well my FTC team I'm a jr member on our FRC team, which that build team is 2/3 female freshman! woo girls!) I always try to get my friends into FIRST but I have only succeeded with one of my guy friends. It really disappoints me that there are so few girls. Truly it shows womens strength and will, really it proves that women are just as able as men to do things such as robotics. Sorry this is so long, but topics like this once I get going, I don't stop very quickly.:rolleyes: