[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

I'm not sure that I entirely buy that girls aren't going into science because their mom's are proud that they can't balance their checkbooks. I think that the problem lies a bit deeper: the self esteem/confidence (or lack thereof) of todays girls.

Yes there is a nerd stigma associated with science. But some of the most popular girls from my high school are now majoring in engineering. So I look further at those girls and notice something about them. They are strong and confident. They are not affected by the nerd stigma because they don't allow themselves to be.

My thoughts on how to fix it? Try to fix the confidence factor. It is the one part of this that we can control. We cannot control how their peers treat girls, but if we make our girls as self confident as they can be, then I think that there will be more of them going into science without fear of being "nerds".

My father would have had no understanding how to mentor or counsel me in a college career much less science or engineering. He died thinking I would graduate from high school and get married. I went to college with my mother's support though she had no clear vision of why. Teachers, mentors, engineers, parents have all grown along with the dreams and aspirations of women up through the 2000's.

It is my thinking that the individual should take responsibility for communicating to her support sytem: mentors, engineers, parents, what they have been doing right and what they could do to increase their understanding of the woman's journey in achieving success in these fields of science and engineering. That will help future students and team members.

Also, the pool of support from young women as alums, successful college graduates and mentors is growing. Sally Ride says role models are needed - that's you. That's what you've been doing and will continue to do for years to come, each year being joined by more.