Evan&Kelcie

[] Argonne National Laboratories—one of the world’s premier research institutions—has held its “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” for its 9th consecutive year, attracting 52 middle school girls to observe what women do in the laboratory. The purpose of this event was to inspire young girls who love the sciences to continue to pursue their dreams and to meet with female peers who share similar interests. This event was particularly important, given the decreasing amount of students who go on to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers. This lack of interest in STEM fields is particularly glaring in the female population. Cristina Negri, and Argonne agronomist and environmental engineer who is a part of Argonne’s internal Women in Science and Technology committee addressed this problem when she said, "We care about making sure women who want careers in science and engineering don't get lost in the 'leaky pipeline' and drop out." Negri’s statement about leaky pipelines relates to the proven fact that many women lose interest in science during middle school due to societal pressures. On a related note, the article states that Argonne National Laboratories has recently gained a powerful ally in the recruitment of women to STEM fields. This ally is Mattel, the company which has just announced will launch a computer engineer Barbie doll, in part to encourage girls to go beyond stereotypically female careers.

Evan: Personally, I found this article to be very uplifting. I feel that Argonne National Laboratories is going about encouraging females to pursue STEM careers the right way. By presenting girls with female role-models to follow after in the fields of science, Argonne may just be able to effectively fight the aged stereotype that women are unfit for science. I believe that women can be very capable and able in the fields of science and, really, the major impediment is society. Mattel is also going about encouragement the correct way by disproving/changing societal norms regarding gender and science. The “correct” way of encouragement I support stands in opposition to extreme and unfair policies like double standards in the college admissions process favoring women. Science should stand open for the able and willing and should not be dominated by politics and special interests. Nevertheless, society must strive to identify gifted women who enjoy the sciences and push them gently toward the road of their dreams to stand as equals in the realm of academia. If I were a girl, I would probably be very interested in Argonne’s program.

Kelcie: 1. What do you think about this stereo type? 2. Is the "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" to sterotypical? 3. Why do you think girls "loose intrest" in science and math? 4. Do you think females can break this sterotype in the future with projects such as "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day?" 5. What other projects can we do to help break this sterotype?
 * Discussion Questions**

Evan: 1. Do you believe that women are just as capable as men in STEM careers? 2. Does Argonne's project go "far enough" in encouraging women to enter STEM careers? 3. If you answered no to #2, should more radical policies like universal gender quotas be established in all engineering schools? 4. Describe the impact the computer engineer Barbie may have on young girls. 5. Would you attend this event or buy a computer engineer Barbie?
 * Additional Discussion Questions**