Quote:
Originally Posted by N7UJJ
Boys wind up on the construction and driving teams while girls are more likely involved in fund raising publicity. It is not necessarily because boys push them away, but because girls are more socially aware and are more willing to do what is best for the team. If a girl believes that a boy’s skills with tools are superior to hers, she is more likely to back off from the pit crew for the good of the team. Our culture reinforces the stereotype of boys being mechanically superior and as a result, girls usually have less experience with tools.
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I think the first part of this, the part about girls ending up being part of publicity is exactly right. While this weekend was my first ever competition I saw almost immediately that almost all of the scouts and mascots were female. I'm not saying there were no male mascots or scouts, I'm just saying that many of the scouts and mascots I saw were female.
As to the comment about girls believing that a boy's skills are superior that is exactly why my team is an all-girls team. The goal isn't to discriminate but to teach girls what they are capable of. The goal of FIRST is to convince kids that the STEM technologies are within reach and to inspire kids to find careers in those fields but unfortunately girls are still left wondering if there is really a place for them.
While I understand that these stereotypes are being shattered daily they still exist in many places. In my own experience my all boys robotics class (in school and separate from my team) has generally acted as if I am inferior despite my higher grade and experience level. My ideas are tested last, wrenches are taken from my grasp, and I have been informed-- in an way that may be interpreted as joking or serious depending on the student-- that I am a woman and therefore cannot drive. Having an all-girl's team makes those kind of actions obsolete. Instead girls are encouraged in all of their ideas and all of their actions.
Finally an all-girl's team caters to the girl. My team feels like more than a family. We have had some serious issues that have been worked out without the help of a mentor. Some of us have gone to each other when support couldn't be found in their own households. I don't have the experience to say if this isn't true in a coed team but I know that having such a tight bond has made me a happier person and raised doubts over whether I would want to switch to a coed team.