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Originally Posted by Wetzel
It goes FAR beyond marketing. What toys did your parents get you when you were younger? How are are women presented in the movies, in popular culture? That is some of the basis for the institutionalized power that our society has for men over women, and some of the basis for the institutionalized discrimination. Did your dad work and your mom stay home with the kids? You grew up with that as normal, so a women going to work rather then working as a mother is abnormal to you. You may not actively think that, but it is an intrinsic part of your worldview and so shapes your perception.
We don't need others to change to reach equality, we need to each understand and actively work against the stereotypes that we have ingrained in ourselves.
Wetzel
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Yup, this is known in psychology as a Gender Schema (Wetzel described it wonderfully, he knows what he's talking about).
I must admit, I was encouraged to enter the field of engineering and that's why I am here. I was talking to my friends from the medical magnet yesterday and many of them said they didn't want to go into the field but their parents say so. When I talk about robotics, they say "wow that's so cool! I wish I could do that" and yet... what they don't realize is that they can (they are always welcome to our robotics meetings). So what's the gap between wanting to do it and actually doing it? For me it was intimidation. It's even more intimidating when you are in "foreign territory."
Example: I am an outsider female thinking about joining the robotics team. This is what's going through my head. "It sounds great but what's the chance that someone is going to hand me a wrench? Why would they even bother to explain anything to me? What if they just leave me behind because I'm not strong enough??"
Of course, this line of thought is
far from the truth. I know the majority of the teams will reward any enthusiastic student with the opportunity to learn and work on the robot. But it's just that initial step! It's just getting up and saying "i want to do something!" It's simple for the more aggressive people but when you are meeting people who are all predominantly male... it takes guts!
What I noticed, after asking many people, is that word of mouth does wonders. If a girl can tell another girl that they actually do what they want and have a great time, what could go wrong? So this last note is a call to all you girls,
SPREAD THE WORD! What do you have to lose?
[side note]: This topic has come up many times and it seems to be a topic that never dies. But I think this happens for a reason. That's why I still post about it and why I still voice my opinion. If one more person can be inspired by one of these posts, then I think it's worth it.