I do think that all types of people should be actively encouraged to join the team and be involved in every aspect. I do, however, feel that some girls need a little more encouragement than others. Teams that have few to no girls on their team may have more trouble attracting
more girls. Why? It's a comfort level thing, I think. It's easier to hold onto a group of friends than 1-2 individual girls, in some cases, and definitely easier if there's already girls on the team or at least a female mentor. They can be intimidated by all the males doing the "guy work" and not being experienced in it, and if the guys and mentors don't actively try to involve the girls, then they may never reach their comfort level in this atmosphere.
This past fall we followed the lead of Team 180, and held a "girls night" with the group we had recruited so far. I think it has positively affected their involvement. There were about 8-9 girls originally and we have at least 6 very active ones. This was not to be discriminatory or "special treatment". This was to get them introduced to the shop and equipment, without the entire team surrounding and overpowering them, so that come build season, they were confident in working on parts. We encourage it - and if they're not interested in it, we don't force it.. There are many other parts of the team that they can find interest in if they so choose.
If the the less aggressive girls dont' get a little bit of attention to encourage their involvement, they may slip thru the cracks... Some girls aren't always going to bust their way into the shop and say "show me how to do this, I want to learn", if there's a bunch of guys rushing around the shop doing their thing. They may feel like they'd be bothering others, and if the girls aren't close friends with them, they probably aren't comfortable being aggressive. I encourage mentors and the guys to make a conscious effort to include everyone, even if the kids look disinterested. Build season gets busy and you have less time to spend on teaching basics.. But that amount of time you do spend, either in the fall or during build season, can help shape the kids lives.
Many teams do this well, maybe some need to improve... I really don't know.... But it's just another possibility as to why girls aren't as active, despite the % of female members. It helps to try and twist recruitment to encourage girls to join as well - vs. just describing it as a robot building organization.
My two cents... being a girl and all...
