Recruiting Girls

[Vale]

Originally Posted by HelloRobot

When I started in FRC as a freshmen, I was the only girl on the team, besides three female mentors. Not only that; my team wasn't associated with my school, so I didn't really know anyone. I might have gotten discouraged if not for their support.

This is a very important point.

To me, it seems like a big part of getting girls to join teams and stay in them is having female role-models. Mentors and upperclassmen are great for this. If you have any female leaders, I really do suggest making sure they take a dominant role in the recruitment of girls.

For this past year, my rookie year, most of the executive board on my team consisted of girls, and our lead mentor is female. Having that sort of support early on made my transition into being a part of the team a LOT easier than it would have been otherwise. Female role models are great for support and inspiration. Because of them, I can say with a clear head that I am planning on pursuing STEM in the future.

As a result, I recommend that the team builds up a good support system for girls entering, and promotes girls in being active within the team, to recruit and retain female members.