Research says: Feminine STEM role models do not motivate girls

[Katie_UPS]

I never thought about girls being turned off to additional standards, which does make sense. Why would anyone want to have more pressure? I really do appreciate all the additional articles added to this thread. This is something I've become incredibly interested in in the past few weeks.

After reading all of this though, I now wonder what effect I have on younger girls that I see/mentor. As someone who would like to be a positive role model, I wonder if I am having a positive effect. Am I too girly? Not girly enough? Am I giving girls in engineering a bad name?

There is an additional pressure that I have (that I don't think many male mentors think about)* that I must accurately portray what a strong female can look like. I never want my students to think that I am being quiet because girls are quiet or that I am being vocal because I am overcompensating. Now I will also be worried that I am either setting an unattainable of unattractive goal. I don't know if this is a concern or many female mentors or not, because its not something I've discussed with any other EM females.

*I want to clarify** that because they are so few female EMs, what each one does is far more representative of our group than one male EM. Its is similar to how in a group of 6, each member has a sixth of the responsibility, whereas in a group of 100, each member has a hundredth of the responsibility. I hope this makes sense as to why I (and maybe other female EMs) think I am more pressured to be a positive role-model and representative for girls and other female EMs.

** I am clarifying to prevent others from posting that I am "victimizing" myself or unnecessarily adding these pressures to myself without understanding why I think the way I do.