The day is/was yesterday, today or tomorrow depending upon what you read:
http://www.eweek.org/NewsStory.aspx?ContentID=237
~Tom (---Who's doing his part)
Introduce A Girl To Engineering Day
by TD 29 Replies latest jw friends
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LisaRose
I was passing the toy section at the store and I say a really cool tool set for tots. I thought it would make a great gift for my 2 year old grandaughter. I use tools myself and I think she would enjoy it. I wish I had had one when I was a kid, but back then girls were expected to only play with dolls.
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Razziel
I have highly mixed feelings about this. It is very important to increase the number of females interested in engineering/science related fields. We need to draw upon all of our intelliegent youth, regardless of their gender, race, etc.
However, going through Engineering school, I saw several women who were given a free ride. I'm not kidding. Less than 10% of the students were female, and nearly all of them could not perform well on examinations, homework, or laboratory work as compared to their male counterparts. I find this odd since females tend to perform better than males in high school and college entrance examinations.
But I can cite multiple examples where females had a failing grade (D-F) and were passed through the classes, and males had borderline grades (C-D) and were failed. I am not sexist, but I am very merit oriented.
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TheClarinetist
@Razziel: I think that's a symptom of the problem. There isn't as large of a pool of women interesting in engineering to draw from, so when there is a quota to fill (for appearences sake or otherwise), the ones who take up the slots tend to be stupider than the men who are facing a more competitive entrance. It also means that the women who ARE as or more intelligent than their male counterparts have to work harder in order to prove themselves. Encouraging more women to enter the field solves both problems.
EDIT: And letting people slide on their classes is bad no matter how you slice it.
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Justitia Themis
My oldest daughter scored very high in engineering on her aptitude tests and completed all the college math requirements for the engineering program. At the last minute, she dropped engineering and went into accounting.
She incredibly disliked the male personalties in the classes and the instructors. She intuits math, and the male students were used to being the 'best' and 'smartest' and didn't respond well to a 'girl' who was inately better than them. She knew she was smart and didn't need to put up with their sh*t, so she left. I suspect THIS is the real problem with females and our science programs. The ones who can really 'make the grade' tell the pompous asses to kiss off, and they go elsewhere. That leaves only the marginal female candidates in the programs. (kinda like the KH)
Now she has an incredibly successful career at Amazon.com. because she can interface with the engineers (and put them in their place, even the German and Russian ones) as well as the accountants.
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meangirl
Great program! I wish there was a "like" button LOL. I agree Justitia Themis that is an underlying problem.
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Justitia Themis
I just finished some quick research and apparently, the US has a problem with both attracting and KEEPING women engineers. Women walk away from this career in high numbers. In response, companies have instituted 'family friendly' programs to help increase retention, but the programs aren't producing results.
Researchers think they have discovered why. The women weren't walking away because they couldn't balance their work/family life!!! They were walking away because they were putting up with crap from these engineering-type guys and getting paid less, and they were tired of dealing with the good ole' boy network that is still entrenched in these careers.
Isn't that classic though?! Women are quitting...oh...it must have something to do with babies...
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meangirl
Yep typical. They just assumed it was so they could pop out babies!!! LOL Oh well you know I learned on another thread on this board that men think and women feel.....with that being the case why are women even attempting to be engineers.....what are they thinking??? Oh yeah that's right women don't think...LOL
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TD
....sigh
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Razziel
I'm sorry I derailed your thread TD.