This week I am preparing to talk to a group of high school students at a summer camp about opportunities in engineering. The technical focus of my topic going to revolve around my work with drones, but after reading the headlines this week, I am actually going to talk about something even deeper.
The Number of Female Chief Executives is Falling
Claire Cain Miller, New York Times, May 23, 2018
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/upshot/why-the-number-of-female-chief-executives-is-falling.html
While I am on the engineering side of the fence, I agree with what she says in the article. I have seen it throughout my own career as a technician, operator and engineer. Yes, there are biases against women in the workplace, and many of them are not just because of their own choice, but because of perceptions on behalf of those in management above them. The article is well worth the read, but I would like to speak to another issue the article misses. Something more systemic that I see in society and new interns that I work with. And it was summed up well in an article from the Chicago Tribune.
Teenagers may be losing interest in STEM careers, but the know they need tech skills to land a job
Ally Marotti, Chicago Tribune, June 6, 2018
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-teen-girls-stem-career-ambitions-20180606-story.html
The crux of this article is that many young people use technology constantly, but they don’t see themselves as a part of it. They don’t see the exciting career opportunities that may be available to them. Let’s face it. How are engineers portrayed but the media? Boring, geeks in ties.
THIS IS WHY I AM A STEM AMBASSADOR
I think the answer is that more of us need to get out there and show these people the possibilities. The world it is changing. And while there is a lot of negativity out there, I believe it is changing for the better, if we can catch people and show them the limitless possibilities then we can energize them to want to struggle against the negative connotations associated with rising to the top. We need to show them that engineering is more than sitting behind a desk and crunching numbers. We need to show them that being a CEO is more than wearing a suit and saying, “You’re fired.” If people cannot see where they would fit in leading a company or being an engineer, why should they want to fight for it in the first place? Why should they put up with the sexual harassment, the discrimination, the lack of respect if they can’t see a positive side to it?
The more people with integrity, intelligence and vision that we can inspire to lead the world, the better the world will be.
