[EWCP] EWCPcast 9/16/12 - Gender Diversity

[thefro526]

Hi guys, we'll be doing our first 2012 off-season cast (Or should I say 2013 pre-season?) tomorrow night, Sunday 9/16 at 9pm EST on our Talkshoe Page.

The topic will be Gender Diversity in FRC. We've got quite a few people calling in to talk about their experiences so this should be a great cast.

An in depth outline will be available before the cast as usual, it will be posted here once it's ready.

The call will be live here: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/98466

[rsisk]

Looking forward to this cast, it looks like an interesting topic for EWCP to take on.

[LeelandS]

Sounds like an awesome topic for the next cast.

If you're still taking suggestions for what to discuss in the cast, I'd be interested in hear of how other teams get girls involved in FIRST, and then keep them integrated and interested in the program. Of the two teams I've been on, I don't think there's ever been a number of girls I need two hands to count at any point.

I also have a friend who mentors on 2340, Rochester's all girl team, and she was telling me how they barely have the minimum number of students: Just enough to form a drive team and a safety captain. If you have anyone on the cast speaking about the dynamics of single gender teams, I'd love to hear from them as well.

Can't wait for the cast. Hopefully I can catch it live. Otherwise, I can't wait to hear the recording.

[Jim Zondag]

The Killer Bees have made Gender Diversity a key goal for several years, and we work hard to market our program to girls. This has worked very well, and in recent years, we have had a greater and great number of young women trying out for our team. We are in the midst of 2012-2013 recruitment right now, but it is possible that in the coming year that we may have more girls than boys on our team for the first time ever in our 18 year history.

As with 'selling' anything, this is all about marketing strategy, and presenting the right message to the target audience. Having female leaders, both student and adult is a key first step.

[alb4h]

Originally Posted by Jim Zondag

The Killer Bees have made Gender Diversity a key goal for several years, and we work hard to market our program to girls.
.....snip......

Having female leaders, both student and adult is a key first step.

That's definitely what it takes. I recently contacted FIRST to ask if they had anyone tasked with developing materials for teams to assist with recruitment and retention of female team members and mentors. I was surprised to hear that they did not have anyone working on this. I was further surprised to note that there was no mention of a related goal in the recently announced strategic plan.

Did you all see the You Go Girls posters that 1710 had hanging in the halls at Championship? Awesome!

I look forward to the webcast.

Ann
coach and mentor to FRC 3862 - The Iron Scorpions

[Libby K]

Definitely intrigued by this. Can't wait to hear the discussion.

[XaulZan11]

You guys need to stop doing the casts on Sunday during football season!

I guess I'll need to wait until Monday to hear a former 1732 student/college mentor talk about 1732's shift from male-only to a male and female team.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

You guys need to stop doing the casts on Sunday during football season!

I guess I'll need to wait until Monday to hear a former 1732 student/college mentor talk about 1732's shift from male-only to a male and female team.

Sorry, Sunday is the most logical time to do them for us. As much as I like you guys I'm not giving up my Saturdays and I'm usually too tired after work

[Nemo]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

You guys need to stop doing the casts on Sunday during football season!

Robotics is my football!

[JaneYoung]

EWCP,

Thank you for taking on this topic. It's a good one.

Enjoy your discussion.

Jane

[Nick Lawrence]

I'm really looking forward to this cast. It's been a while.

-Nick

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

EWCP,

Thank you for taking on this topic. It's a good one.

Enjoy your discussion.

Jane

I think you guys should get Jane on the cast! It wouldn't make any sense to do it without her.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

I think you guys should get Jane on the cast! It wouldn't make any sense to do it without her.

The plan is to have a series of casts along these lines, we will investigate if Jane's experiences meet with the question we are trying to answer for any future casts. This guest list has been set for a couple weeks now.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

The plan is to have a series of casts along these lines, we will investigate if Jane's experiences meet with the question we are trying to answer for any future casts. This guest list has been set for a couple weeks now.

No need to investigate, Andrew. I'm perfectly happy just to follow along.

Thanks for that comment, Adam. That was quite a surprise!

Jane

[thefro526]

Cast notes are available here.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...0Qc/edit?pli=1

Relevant Comic available here.

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1883