Why is it that not many girls are into robotics?

[ymesays]

Originally Posted by sabrina752

All I can say is girl power!

agree with ya...not like we did to stick together...i think the guys sgould cause we out number them by so much...hahaha

[aaronD341]

This is the question that has been pondered and pondered apon for sometime with no answer. I find it interesting thatI found this post the day when out local newspaper printed a story about our team avoiding the sterotype that girls don't do robotics. Our team doesn't really have a big problem with it. About 45% of our team is girls.

[santosh]

There defiently needs to be more girls in robotics at our school. We only have like 10 out of 84 people being girls in our club. Of Ptree, VCU and nationals, I think there was a higher percentage of girls at VCU.

[bombadier337]

We have girls on our team, but they do mostly PR work. Actually all three of them leadership positions, we only have one guy in a leadership position. (me, VP)

[Tammyanez]

You know, some girls say that they don't join robotics because it is a "male" kind of thing. To them I say, FIRST robotics is about more than just building a robot. If girls are not into machining or engineering, there are other things to do, like creative aspects such as designing shirts or scrapbooking. They can also participate in marketing. There are so many facets to a robotics team and teams need to publicize this. If people only knew what goes on, a lot more people, girls and boys would join robotics.

[IA-Howitzer]

OK, we have only 2 girls on our team and our team is made from 2 different schools (Woodside and Carlmont). Since there is no one from Woodside the people I talk 2 dont want to go and be the only girl there. Any tips on how to get a lot of girls in at once. I was thinking maybe announce something over the intercom but that might be sorta weird.

P.S. Ill try mentioning that RCU thing, but any other help would b great.

O ya, and for the post above me, if they like battle bots, tell them we still can try 2 wreck other robots but that its called "Defense".

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by IA-Howitzer

if they like battle bots, tell them we still can try 2 wreck other robots but that its called "Defense".

However...

Originally Posted by <G25>

Strategies aimed solely at the destruction, damage, tipping over, or entanglement of ROBOTS are not in the spirit of the FIRST Robotics Competition and are not allowed.

[Lisa Perez]

Another thing to consider is that in their curriculum, a lot of girls gravitate toward the social studies and English subjects. I was talking to a bunch of my friends the other day, and it seemed that out of our whole group, I was pretty much the only one who favored math and science.

To add, most people think robotics is completely math and science, which it's not. That's why at my school, we've been working to break that stereotype and demonstrate that people who are indeed apt to like the social studies and English more can still get involved in a large capacity.

IA-Howitzer: The intercom thing really works. When 573 first brought girls into the team, that's how they got our interest. Usually if at least one person's interest is sparked, they will talk friends into coming with them (that's usually the case here).

In my own opinion as a girl i would say that they are too embarsed to join or think it wierd.i am the only girl on the team trying to get others to join is hard.i will take any ideas at all.

[Nin_estarSaerah]

well, I have several theories as to why there are less girls.

First of all would be that girls' brains do often work differently than guys' brains. their interests simply don't lie in engineering as much.. often, not always. but this is not as big a reason as other reasons.

girls care a lot about their popularity and reputation. they don't want to be stereotyped as a "nerd", unless, like me, they embrace their nerdiness.

also, guys on teams have a lot to do with it. sometimes they mentally see girls as cheerleaders and poster makers... or they see a girl as somebody just for them to hit on and flirt with, which may turn girls away from a team.

society's stereotypes also attribute to the lack of girls, and perhaps fuel these other reasons as well

[vic burg]

Originally Posted by IA-Howitzer

Any tips on how to get a lot of girls in at once. I was thinking maybe announce something over the intercom but that might be sorta weird.

Just so everyone knows, I do not mean to be rude or mean sounding in this post. I am just generalizing from what I know.

What you can try to do is just have everyone already involved tell all the girls (and boys) about robotics. Have a demonstration at lunch with a robot, or put up posters. Obviously, guys can still join but, one really huge plus to having girls on the team is that we have smaller hands (usually) and can get in those tight spaces where electrical wires have become unplugged or a screw fell in between pieces, etc. Also, (and I don't mean to demean the guys), but girls seem to have better hand-eye coordination, for like, the position of human player or maybe driver. I'm not saying that guys are terrible with it, but it's really about the brain chemistry. However, that's neither here nor there-- basically just try to appeal to girls. you don't have to paint your bodies pink (although im sure 233 wouldn't mind -- lol) but just advertise it, on the pa system, with posters, flyers, just talking, etc.

Just get across the idea that robotics isn't only for guys. Heck, this is my second year as mechanical manger! There may be some people who may not like the idea of girls on a FIRST team, but there are 2 FRC teams I know (knew) of that are made up of all girls.

Just tell them about it!

[5dimes]

My team has way more girls then guys , and our school has equal number of male:female. However, it does sometimes seems like the guys understand more about the engineering aspect, on my team anyways. I am not saying this in an insulting way, i am myself a girl and i am head my team's electrical group. I am just stating an observation that might be part of the answer for some.

[Erin Rapacki]

Here's an interesting article that somewhat related:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science...ain/index.html

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(CNN) -- It's an argument that's as old as it is contentious: that male and female brains work differently.

It's also spawned countless self-help books (think "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus") and bland jokes about women being unable to read maps, or men never asking for directions.

It's a brave expert who'll chart a course through these controversial waters.

But that hasn't stopped Michael Gurian, psychologist and author of "What Could He Be Thinking?".

He believes there are about a hundred structural differences that have been identified between the male and female brain.

"Men, because we tend to compartmentalize our communication into a smaller part of the brain, we tend to be better at getting right to the issue," he said.

"The more female brain (will) gather a lot of material, gather a lot of information, feel a lot, hear a lot, sense a lot," he said.

Scientists say males have more activity in mechanical centers of the brain, whereas females show more activity in verbal and emotional centers.

The differences can be noticed from early childhood, Gurian said, such as when an adult gives a child a doll.

"That doll becomes life-like to that girl, but you give it to a two-year-old boy and you are more likely, not all the time, but you are more likely than not to see that boy try to take the head off the doll," he said.

"He thinks spatial-mechanical. He's using the doll as an object".

To find out why these differences exist, scientists have taken voyages deep inside the gray matter using MRI scans.

The scans show that in most women, the corpus callosum area, which handles communication between the brain's two "hemispheres", is larger.

In layman's terms, it means that the two sides of the female brain "talk" better to each other -- which could explain why studies show women tend to multi-task better.

On the other hand, the scans show men tend to move information more easily within each hemisphere.

It all boils down to genes, according to Dr. Marianne Legato Partnership for Gender Specific Medicine Columbia University.

Women are born with two X chromosomes, and men with an X and a Y.

"And on that Y chromosome are at least 21 unique genes unique to males which control many of the body's operations down to the level of the cells," Dr Legato said.

She also said those genetic differences explain other differences, like why men can drink more alcohol than women without becoming intoxicated.

"Women do not have the enzyme in their stomach that degrades alcohol which men have," she said.

Unfortunately it doesn't explain why some men leave the toilet seat up, or some women can't take out the garbage.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report.

[Pielord]

Originally Posted by busterblade16

I am serious about this. Why dont they?

thats what id like to no

[Squeje250]

well for our team we actually have about 25% girls on our team. they dont really build BUT they are on what we call our spirt team (or our cheerleaders) i dont know exactly why the girls dont like building but thats possibly because i am not a girl.