Girls are still undermined?

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by Karthik

... Too often, girls get left behind on FIRST teams because during the crunch of the 6 week build, people don't have enough time to teach.

...When it comes to build season, FIRST teams rely on the students who can get things done quickly. So the manufacturing jobs are assigned to those who already have the appropriate skill set.

This post flags some of the most common problems that FIRST teams encounter - the traps we fall into.

1. When you start thinking FIRST is a robotics competition, you forget we are here to show students what a career in engineering and science will be like. When building a better robot is more important than giving a student exposure to new skills and career insight, the train has jumped the tracks and is plowing mud.

The answer to this problem is not easy. As mentors we often have to reject great robot ideas because they are too complex, and students would not be able to implement them in 6 weeks. Very often we have simplified our design so the students, new unskilled students, would be able to handle the tasks. Some of our robots turned out mediocre, but our students turned out excellent.

2. Engineering is NOT manufacturing. I say this repeatedly every year, but many teams fall into the trap of thinking engineers are machinists and wiring technicians. Engineering is the design part, figuring out what the machine will do, and how it will do it. Building the machine (in the real world) is a process of the engineers producing drawings, and machinists fabricating the parts, and usually technicians assembling them. It is good to be able to fabricate things with your own hands, but thats not what engineers do.

in fact, I always feel very uncomfortable if I have to man a drill press, or solder circuit boards, or assemble prototypes at work, because that is not what Im being paid to do. In a pinch I can, but if Im doing fabrication and assembly work all day long something is seriously wrong with the project!

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

I am not going to be an Engineer when I grow up.
I am going to be a doctor.

I don't know very much about fabrication of parts, manufacture, etc.
I am always happy to discuss design.

I did not do Public Relations my first year because I was a girl.
I did Public Relations because I write well and I organize well.

I agree with Elise. There is no appropriate ratio, there is no set mark. Because of my team, I will be an Engineering major. That change in interest from some random science to Engineering major happened over the course of my Junior year. I never consciously said "I want to switch." I realized it gradually, as I met people from other teams and worked with them. I realized it as I met Engineers, I realized it as I understood the message of this program.

FIRST does not mean "For Inspiration and Recognition of Working in the Machine Shop." It means, "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology." One half of that statement is science, and I love science. 3/7 of my classes this semester are hardcore science.

I leave you with one message:
Do not try to put me behind a drill press because I am a girl and unadvantaged.
Do not assume that I am planning to pursue a career in humanities just because I have fun with PR and the activities that come with it.

Teach me to be an Engineer. I am ambitious, I am willing, but I am interested in the S in FIRST, not as much in the T. That's personal preference. We're different. That's fine. We can still work together.

- Genia

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by KenWittlief

2. Engineering is NOT manufacturing.

in fact, I always feel very uncomfortable if I have to man a drill press, or solder circuit boards, or assemble prototypes at work, because that is not what Im being paid to do. In a pinch I can, but if Im doing fabrication and assembly work all day long something is seriously wrong with the project!

How true! Same here in a different area. I work in Composites. If I'm doing layup something is seriously wrong or our techs are too busy. If I'm bagging parts it is because the techs couldn't figure out how to do it. Which means it must be really hard or somebody screwed up in the design phase.

[OZ_341]

We feel one of our missions is to provide new experiences for every kid on our team. On our team we don't let anyone stay in their comfort zone for long, boy or girl.

We have many girls on our build and drive teams. Why??

When a girl on our team says, I would rather not drill holes or drive a robot.

Guess what they are doing next meeting!

After that they can logically decide if they would rather build or do something else like promotions or art work.

Thats one way we make it happen on our team.