Thread: girls ?
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Unread 26-06-2003, 00:43
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Jeff_Rice Jeff_Rice is offline
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Team Role: Programmer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Linn County
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I have been watching this thread on and off for a while now, and I have been thinking about this.

If you leave a 7 year old boy in a room full of barbie stuff alone, he will eventually grow bored, make sure no one is watching, and start playing with the barbies.

Different story if there are other people in the room with him. Reactions will vary greatly here, but it is very likely that he will not play with the barbies.

What if we stick the kid in a country where it is socially acceptable for boys to play with barbies? He will play with the barbies whether people are there or not.

Here is my point. Recruiting girls actively is only a temporary solution, but it looks good and everyone says, hey, we're fixing the problem, look at us. We've (almost) all bragged about the number of girls on our teams. And it is very important. But we need to have girls on teams become role models, showing that engineering is okay and even cool for girls as well as guys.

Well, sorry, but I felt the need to say that. Recruiting girls is only a temporary fix. The girls on FIRST teams must become visible. (Lego league is a good place to start, fresher minds). In doing so, we will ultimately fix the problem, rather than prolonging it.

BTW, this is as much about guys doing PR, artsy craftsy stuff and paperwork as it is about girls.
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