[MariaCastro]

Being female is not a handicap, The STEM Field has been predominantly men since the BC times. There has been a sub-conscience belief in society that the man has an advantage in these fields. (Archimedes, Galileo,Newton, Einstein are just example of how long men have dominated in STEM) It is extremely difficult to change society and to fully accept females into STEM within only 50 years.

Even though Many teams in FIRST have females on there teams, not all are engaged with the robots, There ARE females in leadership positions and major roles, but as an overall males are still dominant.

All female teams are just a bridges that facilitates a females entry into the world of STEM. This is just a stepping stone for some. One our team we have an All Girls Underwater Robotics Team named LEGIT (Leading and Empowering Girls Into Technology). Some females may feel insecure directly going into the main team that has some male leaders. (our FIRST team has a majority of females). Having the all girls teams has allowed us to recruit more females and has enabled them to work side by side with the more experienced members of our team.