The world needs more female engineers

"Just wear your damn mask..." (jimal) 11/06/2013 at 11:59 • Filed to: None

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My wife found out about this company called Goldie Blox, which makes engineering toys for girls. Since Engineering does seem to be a bit of a pickle party, I figured I'd throw this out to Oppo, since I'd rather my daughter want to be an engineer than a princess. Plus, if you look hard enough on the website you'll find a unicorn...

http://www.goldieblox.com/

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:04

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Try finding a girl in Engineering classes. Too many dicks on the dance floor.

Just wear your damn mask... > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/06/2013 at 12:05

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If you're feeling enraged now, find the unicorn.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:06

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If I ever raise a daughter, you can be certain that there will be plenty of construction toys and assorted awesomeness.

Makes me wish I did ME and CS at Georgia Tech...It wouldn't have ended well, but there is a part of me which is still an engineer.

Picture related. Double ladder table frame.

Casper > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:10

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This subject has been studied quite extensively. More than anything, if you want your daughter to be serious about considering a technical field, the key is teaching her that she doesn't need to have children or get married early on and the basic rules about work ethic. Most of the time when woman make career choices they are looking lowest stress, lowest commitment, most flexibility, etc. That is why it is so hard to get them into a field where people may be working 10-15 hours a day and on weekends after also having taken extra course loads in school. Men have egos they are trying to help inflate with their careers. They want to buy shiny cars. They want to impress woman. This is a very interesting dynamic.

I have been very interested in this subject as a person in the upper end of the IT field. The only woman I have ever worked with that were serious about the field and headed toward upper levels were very "guy like". They approached situations like traditional men in the field. They were more career oriented than family oriented like men, they were less likely to be overly social, etc. They even typically related better to their male peers than other females. The rest did it because they felt pressured to because they were told it payed well, but usually burn out in the first few years or got married and opted out of the fast pace.

Here are a few random links on the subject. There was a more recent study completed the other day, but I can't remember where I was reading it.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/20…

http://www.livescience.com/18491-mommy-tr…

Takuro Spirit > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:13

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My girls love Legos, and they like Hotwheels. Imagine how pissed I was when I saw the header on the Hotwheels games website:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Play free racing car games for boys , action-packed driving games and outrageous stunt games. Compete against friends in your favorite Hot Wheels cars

Ilike_cougars > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:17

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It may be the idea of engineers in countries, but there was definitely a 50/50 split in the engineering classes that I took in undergrad. And more often than not the girls got the better GPA when it came to written exams, practical exams though were another ball game. The difference is after female engineers graduate I guess, not everyone go into their field of study..

f86sabre > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:18

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I'm an aerospace engineer and my wife is a molecular biologist. I'm also a hiring manager in a large engineering organization. We have a few women in the org and my group, but there needs to be more. Diversity is more than the color of someones skin or religion. The better the mix you have the more interesting the solutions.

I also have a 3 year old daughter and I would love for her to have an interest in science and engineering. We've done everything we can to encourage our little one to explore these areas. That said, there is still plenty of Hello Kitty in the house.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:19

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My wife (an engineer) already has some for our daughter. She'll be 5 tomorrow, and we're pretty sure she has The Knack.

My wife has also managed to find a very good work-life balance. She managed to find a very good 30 hour per week job, so she gets to have the time in the morning to take our three kids to school and daycare and also pick them up at a reasonable hour. Related - we do enlist the services of a cleaning woman.

Jayhawk Jake > f86sabre 11/06/2013 at 12:26

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I'm an aerospace engineer and sometimes I forget there's such a thing as women.

Dusty Ventures > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:27

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oldirtybootz > Casper 11/06/2013 at 12:28

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My girlfriend is going to school with the goal of getting into a nursing program and becoming a physician's assistant and eventually a doctor. I'm 22 snd she's 20, but we've talked about marriage and children, and we're on the same page about either not having kids at all or waiting until our 30s. She wants to work, she doesn't want to be a housewife or have to juggle a career and family, at least not until she's making good money. We've even talked about me being a stay at home dad if we did have kids.

tromoly > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/06/2013 at 12:28

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f86sabre > Jayhawk Jake 11/06/2013 at 12:30

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There are a few. Not many, but a few.

Gamecat235 > Takuro Spirit 11/06/2013 at 12:33

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That's some straight up BS right there. My daughter already (at 2) shows more interest in cars and how things work break than my 15 year old son.

I am going to treat her interests as gender neutral, and pray that she enjoys the legos in the house as much as I do (there are bins and bins of them).

Icemanmaybeirunoutofthetalents > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:36

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I've had my ass handed to me by female engineers above me. I'd love for more girls to take up engineering and science. More diversity of viewpoints = more interesting things to do and find! Also more eye candy (yeah yeah as if nobody does that!).

Jayhawk Jake > f86sabre 11/06/2013 at 12:41

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I meant in general (foreveralone)

Fun fact, my graduating class of aero engineers was all male. All 22 of us. It was apparently the first time that's happened in 15 or 20 years.

It's a "Porch-uh" > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 12:51

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I've seen this as well, but promised to stop buying stuff for my kids that they're too young for. I have a closet full of awesome stuff they can't use for another few years.

My daughter (16 months) is already playing with Hot Wheels - not sure if that's my doing or her brother's (almost 3). Tried getting her a doll, but she could care less about it right now. Also glad she loves books.

Casper > oldirtybootz 11/06/2013 at 13:08

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Sounds like you guys are doing it the right way... rather than just assuming things happen and being reactionary.

Takuro Spirit > Gamecat235 11/06/2013 at 13:21

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Yeah I don't get into the gender specific crap. The wife does, but she doesn't mind if one of the girls takes an interest in something more "boy oriented" if I recommend it, or they point it out.

It does scare me that the oldest has a strong belief already at 8yo that only a man and woman can date/kiss/marry.

Not sure where that came from, the wife and I are pretty open minded on that subject.

Gamecat235 > Takuro Spirit 11/06/2013 at 13:28

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That's really odd. School mates perhaps? Or just only seeing examples of straight couples leading to an observed definition?

Somewhat similarly, I worry that my son has taken my indifferent approach toward religion and only taken the portions that seem anti-religion. I have regularly spoken about everyone having their own rights to their beliefs, so long as they don't infringe on others, and he seems to have glommed onto the negative connotations from this and ignored the rest. So I've spent the last couple of years very cautiously and intentionally showing the good that comes from religion / community / belief.

Parenting can be a weird journey, and you have to always remember that anything you do, or say, can be followed, selectively, by your children.

McLarry > Ilike_cougars 11/06/2013 at 13:31

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What sort of engineering? In my experience you'll find more ladies over in Civil, Environmental, and maybe even Mechanical Engineering. Hop over to Chemical and Electrical/Computer there'll be a token 1 or 2.

Of course it also depends what year classes....engineering classes tend to start big and graduate small :P

Takuro Spirit > Gamecat235 11/06/2013 at 13:32

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Or Sunday school.

Yeah I'm not for or against it, I'll let them believe what they want. They know they're allowed to make their own choices and decisions, but that they still have repercussions socially.

Just wear your damn mask... > Casper 11/06/2013 at 13:42

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All my daughter has to do is look at my wife for inspiration. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Cellular and Microbiology and has been in one of those highly specialized technical industries that pays well but expects much.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > tromoly 11/06/2013 at 13:50

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Yup.

oldirtybootz > Casper 11/06/2013 at 14:09

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I don't particularly like kids (give me pets instead) and she has a pretty damn good work ethic. I just need to get myself back into school. I'm thinking business, I've always wanted to work for an automaker.

Ilike_cougars > McLarry 11/06/2013 at 14:16

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Electrical engineering, But here is the ideology in general for Indians, you either become an Engineer or a Doctor, anybody who takes anything else is usually seen as below par, which is probably why you see the equal split in Indian schools. I did my Masters in a US university though and immediately felt the disparity that you see. That said I did notice the prettier ladies taking Civil and Environmental engineering.. lol!

D > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/06/2013 at 14:22

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I'm in just an introductory engineering course and even there, there's probably ten girls out of a hundred and fifty students.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > D 11/06/2013 at 14:24

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8 will change majors, the other two will never be in your classes again.

D > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/06/2013 at 14:26

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forecast: grim

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > D 11/06/2013 at 14:32

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Unfortunately

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 14:57

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Somebody is making too much money on boys' toys in girl colors.

Casper > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 15:07

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That's always one of the critical components: having a role model. She should be well on her way then. It can't hurt to make her come out and work on cars as well ;)

Casper > oldirtybootz 11/06/2013 at 15:10

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Yeah, my wife and I had the kids talk early on and decided against them. My brother has had plenty, so that means the my sister and I are off the hook with the parents (not that they would really pressure us to have kids anyway).

Enginerrrrrrrrr > Just wear your damn mask... 11/06/2013 at 15:13

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I saw this about 6 months ago. It's fucking great. When my nieces get old enough, this is what they will be receiving from their uncle. Luckily they already enjoy their older brother's legos :)

oldirtybootz > Casper 11/06/2013 at 15:18

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She has three siblings and I have two, so our parents have plenty of chances for grandkids without us procreating. I like to think of all the money we wouldn't have to spend.

f86sabre > Jayhawk Jake 11/06/2013 at 15:24

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We had 12 with 2 females.

Casper > oldirtybootz 11/06/2013 at 15:25

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My biggest concern was that there seems to be plenty of people already and the world is only getting worse. Each generation keeps getting more and more pathetic, yet they are constantly laws preventing people from fixing their own children. It would be cruel for me to have kids and make them deal with the level of idiot that will be around in the future. I'm quite convinced Idiocracy wasn't a movie, it was a premonition.

I will concentrate my money and power, then choose which of my siblings kids are most deserving to receive it when I die. If none are worthy, I will look for general people I consider deserving and would put it to good use. If I can't find any, the money and property will be loaded onto a rocket and shot into the sun to show my disappointment with the world.

Jayhawk Jake > f86sabre 11/06/2013 at 15:50

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How many did you start with? We had 50+ with at least 15 girls freshman year, ended up with 22 guys. 2 girls that started with us graduated the next year (switched to 5 year). The next two classes had a bunch of females, ours was just weird.

TheOnelectronic > f86sabre 11/06/2013 at 16:05

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The better the mix you have the more interesting the solutions.

I can not emphasize enough how much I like this phrase.

oldirtybootz > Casper 11/06/2013 at 16:24

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I totally get where you're coming from on that. It makes me sick that in China has to limit people from having kids but here you can have 19+ and get a fucking tv show for it. I also worry about bring a child into the world and them having some sort of disability and not being able to lead a full and normal life. I'd feel so guilty.

Casper > oldirtybootz 11/06/2013 at 16:37

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If later on I feel the need, I'll adopt one of the millions of children that are already without homes.

f86sabre > Jayhawk Jake 11/06/2013 at 18:31

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I think we started with 25-30. I went into school in 93 and it was during a downturn in aerospace. Graduated in an upturn. We all had jobs. Kind of cool.

Jayhawk Jake > f86sabre 11/06/2013 at 22:54

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Yeah, that's total opposite of me. Started at the peak, ended at the bottom. I was the first one with a true job offer, and the rest trickled out very slowly