IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2019 - 32

Introducing
IEEE Collabratec™
The premier networking and
collaboration site for technology
professionals around the world.
Featuring a suite of powerful online
tools, IEEE Collabratec allows you
to connect with IEEE members,
researchers, authors, and technology
professionals according to geographic
location, technical interests, or
career pursuits.
You can also create and share a
professional identity that showcases
key accomplishments and participate
in groups focused around mutual
interests, actively learning from
and contributing to knowledgeable
communities. All in one place!

Learn about IEEE Collabratec at
ieee-collabratec.ieee.org

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

JUNE 2019

buy into the idea that only the
kid who focuses on one solitary
STEM pursuit from a young age
will find success in that particular field. It's not necessary,
and, actually, it's not always
desirable. Childhood is a time
for young children to follow
their inclinations, explore, have
adventures, experiment, and be
The book Count Girls In
fascinated by the world around
helps parents introduce
them, in whatever that means
their daughters to STEM
through the youngsters'
to them on a given day. These
other interests.
are the kids who will become
our future innovators when
they use their creativity to combine their unique experiences
in new, never-considered ways. Take, for example, the dancer
who helped NASA develop robots that moved more gracefully,
and thus more fluidly, in space or the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology researchers who were inspired by origami to
develop a tiny robot that, after being swallowed in a dissolvable capsule, unfurls itself inside a child's stomach to retrieve
an ingested button battery.

Have a Positive Attitude
Most importantly, check your own mind-set because if you
don't see a girl as a STEM kid or if you don't see STEM pursuits
as worthwhile, interesting, and attainable, she won't either.
Everyone plays an important role here. Girls look to the
women in their lives for cues on how they should think and
behave. So it is critical that girls see their mothers, aunts,
teachers, and so on engaging with STEM in positive ways.
(This means no more saying that you hate math or that
you can't help with math homework!) A father, grandfather,
or brother who shares his enjoyment and appreciation
for math, science, and technology will also have a profound influence.
We're not saying that every young girl is meant to enter a
STEM field, but the decision should be hers. We can work to
keep the door open for all children so that, at any age, they
have the opportunity to blend STEM with their passions in
ways that make sense for them.
Today, we need diverse thinkers more than ever, and
STEM confidence and competence will help regardless of
what careers our children choose. More women politicians
with strong science backgrounds to serve on the House
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology? Yes, please.
More female high school teachers and college professors to
act as mentors and role models to young women? Definitely.
More mechanical engineers with a focus on renewable energy? We need them. Give her opportunity, and let her take it
from there.
-Katianne Williams

http://ieee-collabratec.ieee.org

IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2019