[GeeTwo]

The most important thing with targeted recruiting, or for recruiting above what your publicity generates, is the personal appeal. Our head coach is a science teacher, and the vast majority of the young ladies (and most of the non-geeks) on our team were in his science class. You need to be ready to answer reasons like "I don't know anything about robots" [You don't need to know; we teach you] and "I don't want to be the only girl on the team" [We already have N__ and J__, and you can invite a couple of friends to come with you]. Don't downplay the amount of time required, but you may want to emphasize how this amount of time working together helps the team feel more like a family than a club. (You may want to use this angle when recruiting introverted guys, as well.)

Once you have a few on the team, make some effort to ensure that they are included in conversations, especially the "minor conflicts" over robot design. Encourage the ladies to be more assertive with their opinions, and the men to be more receptive of opinions delivered in a more conciliatory manner. Both of them (and probably your robot) will be better for it.