(Em)Powered by Girls!

Today I heard a catchy tune on the radio.

It was "Anything" by Hedley.

I really liked how it made me feel that "I can do anything!"

But lets be real. Do we all feel like we can do anything? Do we always brush away the roles and expectations installed on us by society?

I always remind myself that my two girls grow up in a society that puts lots of barriers for women to choose their profession. I've already addressed this in a recent post http://thinkingscientific.blogspot.ca/2014/06/supporting-girls-through-their.html

Luckily for me, during the summer while running the Pueblo Science Summer Camp, I took my campers to visit the Toronto Tool Library. An amazing DIY maker space with lots of machines from woodworking to 3D printing to electronics. Absolutely AWESOME!
But the thing that really stood out in my view was the fact that the person that showed us the space and later delivered a short program for us was a WOMAN!!! (Michelle is the name)

Here I am preaching to everyone that women should have an equal opportunity to pursue professions which are traditionally considered to be "jobs for men", and I act surprised to see a women doing just that. What does that say about me? For me it tells me that I've been predisposed to be surprised to see women doing "man jobs".

HOW TO ESCAPE?

HOW TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK?

My answer to that is - more female role models. and Michelle is just that. By doing the stuff she does, by being the person I would like to see other girls seeing as a NORMAL choice for themselves, she is making a difference. And the more Michelles we have, the more obvious and normal it will be.

So when I mentioned that to Michelle, she said she shares these feelings and she is going to do something about that. And she did! She came up with a program called "Powered by Girls"

"Eight weeks dedicated to inspiring girls to explore, create, make, and do! With supervised access to a laser cutter, 3D printer, woodworking shop, and over 2,000 tools, girls will engage in a variety of workshops designed to fuel their confidence and ingenuity! Workshops will include introduction to coding, a spooky Tesla radio (for Halloween), 3D modelling, and more!"

What more can I say?

Power to the Girls! You have the power! and now you can have the Tool!

So if you come across these programs, don't keep it to yourselves. Talk about them. Share with others. Share with boys, share with girls. Let everyone know that Girls can do ANYTHING!

Supporting girls through their exploration of science interest

I just saw Verizon's ad last night. If you haven't, check it out:

( from last night until this morning a few more 100,000's views were added!!!!)


The message is clear. Our words have an impact on our daughters' choices. It shapes the way the perceive themselves, the way they navigate themselves through life.
We should all do our best to nurture the interest of our children (both girls AND boys). To listen to them, to support them in their quest for learning.

A report published earlier this year also looked at the factors that shape girls' attitude towards STEM careers. Their main conclusion was that "the only effective means of increasing the likelihood for girls to consider STEM careers is by engaging them in highly active STEM activities"

http://www.wiseatlantic.ca/pdf/WISEatlantic%20Executive%20Report%20-%20January%202014.pdf

Let us nurture dreams, not suppress them.
Not all girls are interested in STEM subject, same as not all boys are.
But for the ones that are, we should not discourage them.