Engaging women in FIRST

[huberje]

Originally Posted by tsaksa

However, if female member of our team said "you should really at least try it, I didn't know anything about electronics or robots when I started, but no one does at first, and you learn a lot," that seemed to make a big difference.

Did you try having a male member of the team say this? I'm curious as to if it was successful because it was a female saying it or because of what was said. I'd imagine a female member saying it would make it more relatable, but I'd also think that having a male member saying it would put some girls at ease and maybe break some assumptions in the process.

When I was on the team, I've seen attempts to get female members involved in areas populated by males (certain subteams, for instance). The attempts I've seen weren't too successful, as the females either weren't interested in the position or there was simply someone who was better suited for it, but it had nothing to do with the fact that they were females.

In terms of joining the team, I'm not really sure. We've always had a pretty decent ratio.