One thing I think would be
very pertinent to this discussion is some statistics on how the ratio of boys to girls on FIRST teams have changed since it was founded. I won't dare to guess, but it would be quite interesting to know.
I agree with nihalita that it seems some girls are intimidated by the fact that the guys are dominating the team's mechanical side of things. I never really thought about it last year, but this year my team has had a remarkable influx of girls, and I have wondered why that is. To me, the most likely explanation is because last year we had several girls on our team who were very involved on the mechanical as well as the spirit side of things. This year, others have come to see what the club has to offer, usually through the referal of a friend on the team. When they see fellow girls doing that type of thing, it helps them realize that robotics is not just for guys, they are able to do this as well.
Any girl who is willing to go out on a limb and join a FIRST team even if the guys are dominating it, my hat is off to you! I don't know if I would be brave enough to do that.
