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Originally Posted by N7UJJ
"girls to develop the thicker skin" I know what you mean, but isn't it sad that the girls must adapt to feel accepted instead of the culture welcoming talented, productive women into the science and technology fields? Perhaps we need to change the culture so that thick skins are not required.
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This is the part that I've been confused about for the last 5 years. It's like the FRC program creates a bubble of Gracious Professionalism that is touted, used, put into effect, and mentored while students are a part of the program. Then, as the students leave the program and move on to further their educational goals and establish careers, that bubble is burst. The part that has been confusing, disheartening, frustrating, and very uninspiring, is the role that mentors of teams may play in contributing to the bubble burst. It may be that in their careers, they are accustomed to and celebrate, the tough skinned mentality, projecting the 'deal with it, this is reality' attitude.
So what that does is limit the possibilities that FRC creates among students, mentors, and teams - by helping to maintain the status quo of the work environmental culture and mentality outside of it.
If men are accustomed to behaving a certain way and the women have to adapt to that behavior, that is sending a very clear signal that it's a man's world. If men are told that there are female employees present and to keep it clean - that is still sending a very clear signal. The expectation should be that employees maintain a professional behavior and attitude all the time. Period. That allows for opportunities like Gracious Professionalism, mutual respect, and courtesy to be a part of that expectation, fundamentally.
I'd love to see a button that says: Gracious Professionalism, it starts here. Even better: Gracious Professionalism begins with me - worn by bosses, engineers, VIPs, politicians, and celebrities.
That would really rock the culture.
Jane