Disrupting the Pink Aisle With Toys for Future Engineers
As a girl growing up in a small town in Rhode Island, I never actually heard the word, “engineering” until I was a senior in high school. At the time, my math teacher suggested I pursue it as a college major. I couldn’t understand why she thought I would want to be a train driver! Luckily, I heeded her advice and tried Mechanical Engineering 101 my freshman year at Stanford. To my surprise, I loved the class and declared it as my major. Unfortunately, I was one of very few women to follow this path. The statistics are dire: only 11% of engineers in the US are women.
Why does this matter? Well, engineers literally build our world. From bridges to solar panels to websites to cars, everything we use every day, the things that make our lives better, are built by engineers. When men dominate engineering fields, we aren’t benefiting from the female perspective. And when half of our population is female, that perspective is incredibly important in building a better world.
“When men dominate engineering fields, we aren’t benefiting from the female perspective. And when half of our population is female, that perspective is incredibly important in building a better world.”
Why are there so few women in engineering? The problem starts early. Children as young as four start to form perceptions around what is appropriate for each gender – what careers and interests are masculine versus feminine. By age eight, girls start to lose interest in math and science. In a culture full of “Bob the Builder,” “Handy Manny,” “Bill Nye the Science Guy” and “Lego Man,” it’s no wonder that girls view engineering as a “boys club.”
I am building GoldieBlox as a way to get girls interested in STEM at a young age and provide them a much-needed female engineer role
Twitter
Featured Reporters
Photo of the Day
by @kjgarvin05
Become a photojournalist and post your best shot to instagram with#WomenDoingItAll today!
VIEW MOREMost Popular