Research says: Feminine STEM role models do not motivate girls

[MamaSpoldi]

Originally Posted by Jessica Boucher

Woah, woah, woah. Don't drive yourself nuts here. Your students will choose who they look up to, not the other way around. Just be yourself, be honest, and most importantly, be present. The best role models are the ones you can relate to.

Jess - I could not have said it better myself. I will admit that I too wonder sometimes if I am the "best" role model for the young women on our team... and I try to remind myself, each time I hear this question whispered in my mind, that I can only do my best... just like every other mentor. My answer is to try to relate to what they are looking for, sharing my experience, and helping them achieve their goals in whatever way I can.

Originally Posted by Astrokid248

My point is that the people who make these motivational posters and videos need to be balanced in how they portray female STEM role models. For every video of how science makes your makeup, there needs to be a Rosy the Riveter out-muscling linebackers with a wrench or Sam Carter fixing old motorcycles after coming home from a hard day of interdimensional wormhole physics. And more to the original point of this thread, realism is the key here. The video from the original article? Faker than all the noses in Hollywood combined. That will turn most girls off simply because of how silly it all is.

I totally agree with this point as well... and I have seen it way too many times, oddly enough, from the Girl Scouts as well. Almost every science program they offer somehow relates STEM to makeup or some other very girly topic, totally alienating the girls who are actually interested in STEM in the first place. This has been a point of frustration expressed to me by many young women who have given up on scouts because of that lack of substance in their program.

[GeeTwo]

My apologies in necro'ing a thread, but a spotlight post spoke to me, and I followed it, and I read, and I am called to post...

Inspiration can come from any angle - the key is to be there to fan it to a flame when the spark lands.

3946 currently has no female technical mentors (Wendy has a science degree, but her main role is with safety contracts, ordering shirts, and organizing transportation and lodging.) Despite this, we have consistently had about a 2:3 mix of girls and boys on the team right from year one.

Case studies: Victorija: I don't know how she was recruited, but she was one of our best mechanical students in 2013. She's now majoring in ME at LA Tech, her younger brother is on the team (heap big fundraiser last year as a freshman), and her mother drove me up to St. Louis last year. I've never seen nor met her father. She came to the team knowing what she wanted to do, and learned a good bit from us.

Robin: A great team member the last three years, and our most accomplished student solderer to date. Even though she decided that she needed to take a job this year rather than sticking with the team, she supported us through tryouts this fall to teach soldering. I have no idea whether her career will be in STEM, but I know I'm not the only mentor who will provide her with an excellent reference whatever she decides to do with her life. (OBTW, she was one of only two human players I know of who threw litter over an FRC defensive net in 2015, both at Bayou Semifinals match #2.)

Veronica: In the interest of full disclosure, my daughter. I was a bit surprised when she joined the team, as VJ has no interest in a STEM career (she's intending to become a signer for the deaf). She grew up in my home, and though she tried to deny geekhood, it was in the blood. (Though it didn't work out, her mother and I met at a science fiction convention.) When we earned a trip to St. Louis, her sales ability (from her mother or perhaps my brother, not me), raised her to second on the team (just behind Leevi, Victorija's brother).

MaryEllen: Wow! This is her sophomore year, but she's already shown me more capability than some of our graduates. I don't know what we did to deserve her, or to recruit her, but I fully expect her to be a success in whatever she decides to pursue. With two Mary Ellens per year, an eight-student team would probably be dominant at just about any regional. I don't know what inspired her, or what keeps her, but I'm hoping for a repeat.

[ManicMechanic]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

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?

Whoa, don't drive yourself crazy! Your job is simply to do what you do best as well as you can.

None of us can inspire EVERYONE, but our hope is to inspire SOMEONE. There may be some aspiring PhD's who will be turned off by my decision not to strive for the highest level (but I hope that there are other PhD women out there to inspire them). And there may be others who see my situation who might think, "I could never get a PhD, but I can still be involved in STEM and have a family like her." STEM is not one-size fits all, and the more options we can demonstrate to others, the wider reach we'll have. Our job is not to be the "perfect STEM model", but to demonstrate one of many possible options. The last thing we want to do is give the impression that this is the "right" or "only" way to do it.

If we operate with integrity and dedication, I don't think we have to worry about turning people off, even if they choose to go in a different direction than we do. The biggest potential turn-offs:

1. Using femininity to unfair advantage. One of my engineering profs had a policy of no make-up exams, stated clearly on the syllabus. A female student went into his office, scantily clad, and was able to obtain a make-up exam, after a number of male students had made the same request just minutes before and been rejected. That action caused much grumbling among male (and other female) students.

2. Having an inflated idea of one's abilities, and expecting special privileges because we're girls. A female student scoring the 650 on her math SAT was surprised to be rejected from MIT because "650 is a great score for a girl." But it's not a great score for an MIT engineering applicant.

Whether you're "too girly" or "not girly enough" won't be the pivotal issue. Most essentially, do you enjoy engineering, and are you good at one or more aspects of it? If your character and your passion for the subject are genuine, the other pieces naturally will fall into place.

[JaneYoung]

I've been following this thread and I think Katie is bringing up an excellent discussion regarding impact. Women who have the credentials and the skill sets who are making an impact as role models. The key word is impact and I think that is a valuable topic to discuss, especially regarding Chief Delphi members and members of FIRST who can and do serve as role models. The reason that I think this is valuable here in CD and in FIRST is because we have role models impacting young people in influential and powerful ways - every day. Ways that the role models may not ever be aware of.

In Chief Delphi, it would be great to see more women submitting white papers and designs for others to view, ask questions about, use as resource material. In FIRST, it would be great to see more women working together to knock our socks off at a Championship conference presentation. At a Regional or District level, it would be great to see more women working together, creating innovative opportunities for teams to talk and network with them. There are all sorts of opportunities for women to promote STEM initiatives, engineering experiences, and career choices. There are opportunities to network with and participate in other programs and share that information.

Each person that serves as a mentor is making an impact, for better or for worse. That's the reality. When the mentors figure out how to maximize that opportunity and act on it - that's when it really starts to get interesting and that's when change occurs. I think this discussion is actually about change. Cultural change and strengthening the process that creates the change.

Thanks for creating this thread, Katie. It's a good one.

Jane

[Katie_UPS]

I should've mentioned that I am not going to change who I am. That would be ridiculous and something I know I am not capable of. But its more of just wondering what the impact I have on my students is. Wouldn't someone want to know if they were having a negative influence/impact?

I really want to add to what Jane has said, but I will save that for another hour when I am more awake.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

I should've mentioned that I am not going to change who I am. That would be ridiculous and something I know I am not capable of. But its more of just wondering what the impact I have on my students is. Wouldn't someone want to know if they were having a negative influence/impact?

Even though I am a guy, I think I can relate to the mysteries of one's influence on a team. In my case, its not so much gender but other things.

For my first 3 years of FRC I was on a HS sponsored team... Which meant that unfortunately a lot of the drama that occurred during the school day would cross over to the time on the team. During my HS years I was loved by a select few but hated by many. I also was popular for a short time, winning a slot on Homecoming court my sophomore year. This too was short lived, which turned into more enemies and bad relations. What a painful lesson to learn.

Robotics was the one thing I was great at, but even on the team I had many enemies (I could go on for a long rant on that). I know that my presence caused a few people not to join due to the hatred. One even quit after a year just because he couldn't stand being seen with a team I was on. I do know of one person who my presence helped feel more at home on the team, but most everybody else came from a different background and fit the mold of the usual rich student who was the child of a local engineer (My family wasn't rich and no close relatives have an engineering background). In fact, combined with the fact that I was the only freshman in 2008, my first year was rough socially, as I was only accepted by a couple Leading Juniors and the mentors. Despite a strong junior year and a Dean's list finalist, only half of the students really embraced me as a member by the time I moved away to another city and another team.

I have always wondered whether I hurt or helped the team's image. I may never know. What I do know is that the year after I joined many students from a background not unlike mine made the jump and joined. Whether I was part of that or just a spectator to a large change is mystery.

However, I don't regret what I did on the team. I try to focus on the good I did for the team in terms of my work and knowedge. Do what you do, and give it your best. You are who you are, make the best of it in whatever ways you can.