Check this out!
http://www.tedxteen.com/talks/tedxteen-2012/128-angela-zhang-breaking-down-the-unknown
After
having brought up the topic in our math course of where women stand in relation
with mathematics, I started looking for young females showing excellence in
math and science. On TEDxTeen, it is so
inspirational to see Angela Zhang quite humbly unfold how “breaking down the
unknown” helped her grow her interest in math and science. Her approach reminded me of teaching with
three-act tasks of Dan Meyer. This video
proves that there are women out there truly passionate about science!
I love this video! It is so important that we encourage our students to continue to learn about maths and sciences. This field is more heavily dominated by males so we need to motivate the females that they too can be great and make a differences. In today's society it can be rather challenging to find work. Engineering can be an amazing job and they are looking for females!
ReplyDeleteAs posted on www.asme.org~ Engineering Still Needs More Women
Although the number of female engineers today has greatly improved since the early 1980s, when only 5.8% of engineers in the U.S. were women, it’s still surprisingly low. Currently, only 14% of engineers are women, according to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee.
Reasons that have been suggested for low female graduation rates include lack of female engineering role models, misconceptions of what it is like to be an engineer, and having fewer technical problem-solving opportunities through K-12 compared to men. Cohoon believes that lack of confidence is a huge factor, especially competing with men
Breaking the Stereotype
“Researchers at Stanford University recently published new findings that women engineering students perform as well as men, but are more likely than men to switch to a different major,” says Cohoon. “These women switch because they don't believe that their skills are good enough and they don't feel like they fit in engineering.”
The stereotype that links masculinity to technology is, unfortunately, still prevalent and difficult to overcome.
Although universities and high schools are working together to encourage more female students to explore science and engineering, industry also needs to step up and do more.“This is especially important now, when unemployment is high and our economy is weak,” says Cohoon. “We cannot afford to lose anyone with the technical skills to create a sustainable future, improve health, build our cyber and physical infrastructure, and enhance personal and societal security. A diverse set of minds needs to tackle those problems. But we are largely missing out on women's intelligence, creativity, and values in solving the problems we all face.”
“With the pending retirement of many of our hardest-working baby boomer engineers, it’s up to the next generation workforce to step up and take on these exciting careers in engineering, and it’s up to the seasoned generation of engineers to drive excitement in this next generation workforce,” adds Stephanie Hill, president of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions-Civil division.
I think another big reason why we are lacking females Engineers is because females do not fully understand what the job involves, and how important it is. Depending on your area, some universities will come to your high school and give free motivational presentations to encourage students to the wonderful field of Engineering.