[GabrielaH]

I am a female student, and I can definitely say that my FRC team has boosted my confidence, communication, and passion for engineering. We primarily have male mentors, and only one third of our team identifies as female, but I have rarely felt ignored or belittled. In fact, this team is the reason why I am pursuing a major in Biomedical Engineering this fall. However, it appears that female students on other teams have faced issues, ones we will face in the STEM workforce. And we do not only face sexual harassment, but also disrespect and being disregarded as less capable.

I recommend discussing the issue head-on with the team during preseason. I remember watching the Verizon advertisement about girls in STEM during a meeting, and the brief discussion we had afterwards. The mentors may not have realized it, but it had a profound impact, and showed me that I would be supported on the team, and I wasn't wrong. I also realized that many male students did not understand that females are discouraged from entering STEM, namely engineering. If every FRC student knew about this issue, we could tackle it more effectively now, and in the future.