Quote:
Originally Posted by asteb27
I want to take this opportunity to brag about our team - out of our 5 student leaders, 3 of them are female. The judges always seem surprised that half the pit crew/drive train are women, but it's just the way it is.
|
I hate that people still seem surprised at women taking on technical and leadership responsibilities (in all areas, not just within FIRST), but that's not going to change overnight. In the meantime, while that worldwide change is happening, I
do love seeing the surprise on someone's face when they actually see women leaders in action. Because I know that, at that moment, someone's opinion is changing.
The support for women in STEM is present and growing. Again, change won't happen overnight, but it's growing like wildfire. All it takes is one supporter, of any gender, to make a difference in someone's life. Positive impact, one person at a time.
Since I first began to show an interest in engineering, I've had countless supporters and influences that have helped me along the way. I'm not sure that I can ever repay all of them for their support, or that I can ever have that great of an influence on others, but I can certainly try. "Pay it forward," if you will.
As a side note, one tactic that I've found to be pretty effective: continue to ask "why?" when being told you can't do something. Unless there's actually a valid reason for not being allowed to do it (such as not having the proper training for a machine), you eventually force them to say "because you're a girl" - which probably makes them feel pretty bad. Bam, there's another opinion changed.