HELP: GIRLS AND ROBOTICS

[StephLee]

Our team had two girls this year; another was supposed to be on the team but came to a build session and got scared away. I was contacted because one of the mentors asked around at school to see if any girls were interested, and my name came up. I dragged a friend along so I wouldn't be the only girl on the team, and she loved it and stayed. I've talked about it so much to my friends, I think a few of them may join next year. And I think the girl who was scared away during build season has agreed to come and help with the website next year. Sarah and I are recruiting some of our friends who are coming up to the high school from 8th grade next year, so I think we'll have a few more girls. Talking to them seems like the best way to get more girls, but be careful not to scare them!!

[Liz C]

I would have to agree with everything the people above said. Here are a few of my suggestions

1) Advertise creatively. For example, this year, we made some funny posters and put them all around school (girls bathroom would be a good spot, but you would of course, want a girl on the team to put them in there, )

2) Make a video or hand out explaining what robotics actually is. This year we made a humorous video called "10 Common misconceptions about the robotics team" It was a hit.

3) After your creative recruitment efforts, bring girls who show up to meetings on the team to your workshop, and then ask them to use the power tools (with help/instructions/proper safety of course, at first). I remember being so scared to use the bench saw, but after I did I felt like I had just constructed a 3 story mansion. Using a power tool is quite empowering, no matter what gender you are.

Hope this helps; good luck!

We dont have alot of girls on our team. we have like about 9-10. Every year is about the same number of girls on the team. We just try to advertise WildStang as best as we can. I tell me friends about it that are girls. Im pretty good at explaining it to them and what its all about but the best way that girls will get invovled is if you just explain it to them so they get what FIRST is all about and stuff. but idk lol
-Court-

[Queen_of_Mascot]

Our girl to guy ratio is poor at best, and I understand all of you. Although we do have a fair amount of females, there are only TWO of us in structre, and most of the females are in finance and public relations. No offence to those departments, but as they usually don't stay for longer then the first thirty minutes... we have perhaps four girls max among twenty guys.

This year, I was also the only freshman female to stay with the team after the first month, save, one other, who left us mid year for Handball.

Yeah. Our school is going to try for girls too, but I doubt I can take another 'battlebots?' question.

[Tigerlily-87]

Just make sure there are some cute guys on the team. j/k

You could contact local clubs/organizations for girls (such as the Girl Scouts), and try to get some of them involved. You can even set up some kind of presentation for them to show them what robotics is. Girl Scouts are really into learning about career opportunities, and would probably love to get more girls into technological fields, so I bet you would get some co-operation there.

Like santosh said, they are also more likely to come in groups. Girls can be shy about joining a guy-dominant group like robotics, but if there are other girls they have more of a chance.

[karinka13]

Originally Posted by Liz C

1) Advertise creatively. For example, this year, we made some funny posters and put them all around school (girls bathroom would be a good spot, but you would of course, want a girl on the team to put them in there, )

This is definately a good idea. I don't know when it started or why, but people post flyers INSIDE bathroom stalls at our school. This kinda gets to me (especially the campaign posters...who wants faces staring at them in the bathroom?) but at the same time, it DOES kinda make people pay attention to you....

Originally Posted by Liz C

2) Make a video or hand out explaining what robotics actually is. This year we made a humorous video called "10 Common misconceptions about the robotics team" It was a hit.

Another of our great recruitment ideas. This video not only featured Liz running in the school parking lot and phony anti-battlebots segments, but me dressed up as a complete geek and pschopath drilling holes in things to get out anger over grades.

Originally Posted by Liz C

3) After your creative recruitment efforts, bring girls who show up to meetings on the team to your workshop, and then ask them to use the power tools (with help/instructions/proper safety of course, at first). I remember being so scared to use the bench saw, but after I did I felt like I had just constructed a 3 story mansion. Using a power tool is quite empowering, no matter what gender you are.

Hope this helps; good luck!

One word of advice on this: don't call it a girls meeting. or anything like that. if you have a meeting to learn how to use powertools that just happens to be geared towards girls, great. but don't say that its for girls. i personally find this incredibly degrading, as i can use powertools just as well as any guy out there, and i think other girls might too.

[Liz C]

Originally Posted by karinka13

One word of advice on this: don't call it a girls meeting. or anything like that. if you have a meeting to learn how to use powertools that just happens to be geared towards girls, great. but don't say that its for girls. i personally find this incredibly degrading, as i can use powertools just as well as any guy out there, and i think other girls might too.

right, I mean when you show the whole team how to use the power tools and such, be sure to invite everyone, even those who claim they're not interested in construction. I wouldn't know what it would be like to hold a coed meeting, but I would think that it would be most effective if you maybe paired up a new member with an old member and had them give "personal tours" and show them how to use the power tools. We did that this year; we gave all the new members a "big sister" on the team.

[tiffany34990]

i would also like to add.. if there are teams with females participation near by ask them if they would come over and help you all out. it's more comfortable to hear what another person of the same sex has to say. if you have photos try to include images of girls working, get other teams images if you need to be.

good luck.. if i think of anything else i'll be surely to add. this is a very important topic for the FIRST community as a large and even the world. girls have to realize they can do anything, once they do they'll be successful for sure...

[Nica F.]

i think that the greatest way to get more girls on the team, is to have the girls left on your team tell stories to the other girls about the trips and how fun it is to be on the team, thats how i got in..=p oh and get the guys to talk to the girls about it too, -_^

[Marisa Russo]

Across North America, DeVry's student population is about 25% female. Of those women, the majority are enrolled in business administration.

To encourage more women to study science and technology, we regularly host young women in science and technology days, and offer a HS-oriented workshop called HerWorld. HerWorld emphasizes the fact that careers in technology are rewarding and just as fun as careers in fields traditionally thought of as "girl" fields like teaching, nursing and social work.

Anything we can do to encourage young women to participate in FIRST would be excellent. I think the key (as others have mentioned) is getting the prospective girl to see FRC in action. Video can work too... The excitement factor should lead to interest...if the female in question is a good fit for FIRST that is.

[sure_smile]

I think a lot of what is holding girls back is that they are afraid of 'oh no, what if i don't get this and i look dumb' or they feel like they don't have any experience, or a social stigma perhaps (me, im proud of my geek status. geeks are cool ) but I think we just need to help them get over that. As for looking dumb...I cannot count the number of times I have set myself up to 'look dumb', but I learned so much....and I had lots of fun too!

[KORN_lover_2007]

Originally Posted by DarkJedi613

For our team the major way we get girls involved is through friends. Last year we had two girls (one of which graduated), but this year we had 5 or 6...(though they're all graduating - so I guess we have the same problem as you...). If one of their friends is involved and tells them what a great thing it is their more likely to listen to them than to read a poster hanging around the school or come to a meeting. Plus they'll know someone and feel more comfortable.

It is a really great idea to have girls invite their other female friends to join. I know I always attempt to persuade all my non-robotics friends, guy or girl, to join the team. One of the main reasons I actually joined was because I was in gifted class, and both the teachers of that class are mentors on our team, so much of the time spent in that class was helping with robotics.
Our team actually does not have that much of a problem with getting girls to join. We have a pretty good blend of both girls and guys on our team, so it has never really been an issue with us. But if you do have trouble, try to get your computer teachers to talk with some of their advanced classes. If people are taking an advanced computer class, they must like technology in some way. If you specifically wanted to target girls to join, you could tell them about fundraising, accounting, or even start a scrapbook. They will eventually get into the building part once they see how much fun it is. I especially know that a group of all guys could probably not make a nice scrapbook, no offense. Hope this helps give you some ideas!

[1086Programmer]

We have maybe 5 or 6 females on the team. I, and maybe on other actually work on the bot.

Girls love to cheer. Why not appeal to the cheerleader in us all? Most of the femme's on our team handle "team spirit", communnication, and our events. That leaves the guys, and me, to build the bot and get whatever needs to get done, done.

Personally. I've always been a female that enjoys techy stuff, computers, programming, and getting down and dirty. You need to find the kind of girls that don't mind getting a little greasy, that don't mind chipping a nail for the sake of the bot, but most importantly... Will enjoy themselves in the process. Don't go after the girls that go to school just for the social scene, etc. Go after the ones that seem mildly interested. Use the buddy system ^_^ Gets a whole clique of chicks to join!

[riboSquirrel]

well, there are three girls on our team, one is able to drive the robot... I on the other hand... and not alowed to really touch it... i almost drove last years into a wall...(never driven a controler before) but last year was also my freshman year. and one thing that really upset me was that in the fall we had another girl on the team, her and i were the cheerign section and leaders of the design and creativity portions of the competition, her and i could be hear cheering clearly over two bands, and three sets of cheer leaders(not to mention the SOUND SYSTEM that was in kenasaws tent... the 50 or so screaming team members and the anouncer) but her mom made her quit because it wasn't "what girls should be doing" ... i wanted to go up to her mom and say"if this is something girls don;t do, what am I?????!?!?!?!? a DUCK?! " this year will be my first FIRST competition(my grades were no where near where they needed to be) but this year i am really looking forward to it... and our team has been GAINING girls year by year, and we are trying to start robot teams in the elm and middle schools in our area to try and spark girls intrest before its destoyied by steriotypes of "girls do that" "guys only" its really sad... lucyly.. i'm imune mwahahaha fear my thick non-girl ness YOU GO GIRLS!!!!!!!

[Pat Chen]

[quote=sure_smile]I think a lot of what is holding girls back is that they are afraid of 'oh no, what if i don't get this and i look dumb' or they feel like they don't have any experience, ..........QUOTE]

The message from all these postings is very clear......if you know of any female friends who show an interest....bring them along with you to the meetings.....girls tend to think that boys know all about tools, machines, etc.....but this is not necessary so.....also encourage them to do things .....not just administrative or publicity stuff ....and let them know that it is okay to ask questions.....

And ladies...talk about your involvement in the elementary schools or middle schools.....especially if you are mentoring a FLL team.....you need to let the younger girls know that it is "cool" to be a FIRST'er.....unfortunately....we are not the front cover of any teen magazines as the cool image