Can a girl be an engineer?
If you type the above question into your browser, this is what you will find on Yahoo! Answers (sic):
Can a girl do civil engineering????
can i do civil engineering is it worth…..am a girl……and i don know wat it is actually about…….or should i do architectural…………….can someone else tell me
1. what are the other streams of engineering…..
2. which ones of them can a girl do
3. which are in most demand
4. which is the most easiest to get in(admission)plz help…………
Did she just ask ‘which of them can a girl do’ ?
All of them!
Maybe you could show these clips to your class – not just the girls – and help to break down these gender stereotypes. Get a discussion going… Have you ever asked your students, ‘What do engineers do?’
You could start with this one minute video:
Breaking Stereotypes about Women
Or maybe this two minute clip featuring six female engineers from Bechtel, ExxonMobil, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and TE Connectivity. This was part of a promotion for ‘Girl Day’, February 25, 2016, in the United States.
Girl Day – “Bring It Out” Campaign Video
Maybe you could get involved at your school! Girls should be encouraged in the early years to move into the STEM subjects and maybe even look at engineering as a career.
If that wasn’t inspiring enough, show them this 17 minute TED talk by Debbie Sterling, founder of GoldieBlox, a toy company out to inspire the next generation of female engineers:
Inspiring the next generation of female engineers
Wasn’t she great? You can even check out GoldieBlox online:
GoldieBlox – ‘Princess Machine’
It’s now up to you and me to show young girls that there is a little bit of engineer in all of us – especially if you are a girl!
Links (in order):
- “Breaking Stereotypes about Women” – YouTube / DiscoverE;
- “Girl Day ‘Bring It Out’ Campaign Video – YouTube / DiscoverE;
- “Inspiring the next generation of female engineers: Debbie Sterling at TEDxPSU” – YouTube / TedEx / Debbie Stirling;
- “GoldieBlox and Rube Golburg ‘Princess Machine'” – YouTube / GoldiBlox
