[hardcopi]

As a mentor and father to a teen daughter (and the mentor who inevitably ends up with 5 or 6 females riding with me to events) I have a slightly different perspective. The interaction between the girls and the guys on our team really doesn't seem to have anything to do with STEM persay.

Part of it is certainly developing a thick skin, but that goes both ways. The girls I have seen who do well in Stem (albeit my experience is limited in this area because I am a solo programmer by trade) all do so because they don't see themselves as needing different or preferential treatment. They seem themselves as programmers, engineers, etc. Their gender doesn't really play a role. If a guy gives them a hard time then they give them a hard time back. If the guy is a creep then you tell them off or you report them.

When we have a male (or female for that matter) student behaving inappropriately we just tell them to calm down, relax, and if need be the mentors will pull them aside and have a talk with them.

My daughter I am sure would have a better handle on this, she started her freshman year knowing nothing about robotics and now 4 years later she was a Deans List Finalist, President of the Team, Drive Captain, President of the Student Council and Leader of the Programmers on our team. (I could go on but needless to say I am proud of her).

I am also pretty proud of all the girls on our team, they aren't bullied by the guys on the team and in roles of leadership throughout. Not a single one was given their role without deserving it.