IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2007 - 39

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has grown to more than 60, the WTIF
charter remains the same as it was
that first day-to expand STEM education for girls. Their goal is to increase
the number of women eligible to enter
a university-level, STEM-related
degree program upon graduation from
high school.
To date, the fund has raised more
than US$350,000, with a goal of
US$500,000. As the effort has gained
momentum, TI men also have joined
the fund and contributed.
In 2003, the Texas Instruments Foundation was made aware of the gender gap
in high school physics and began funding programs championed by the
Women of TI Fund.
"For the United States to prosper
and compete in the global economy,
we must enlarge the pipeline of students, and in particular girls, who are
motivated and prepared to pursue
careers in the STEM fields," says Pulley. "Our aim is to offer programs and
assistance to help fill the projected
shortage of engineers by targeting
women, an underrepresented population in this profession."
That underrepresentation is evident
since:
◗ Over the past eight years, the number of engineering degrees awarded
to women in the United States has
remained stagnant.
◗ In 2006, only 9% of SAT takers
indicated an interest in pursuing
an engineering degree in college.
Of that, only 16% were women.
◗ Today in the United States, only
one in four engineering students is
a woman. Law and medicine
schools have achieved gender equity, but not engineering.
"When you look at the statistics, it
doesn't take an engineer to figure out
changes must be made, not only for girls
but for the overall future competitiveness of our nation," says Pulley.

Three-Tier Approach
The Women of TI Fund focuses its
efforts on three major audiences: students, high school counselors, and high
school teachers.

Page 39

LACK OF GENDER EQUITY IS AN EYE OPENER
Daniel Brown, 11th grade physics teacher at Hillcrest High School in Dallas, remembers feeling a little
insulted when he got received an invitation to participate in a DISD gender equity in-service workshop
two years ago.
"I made a conscious effort to always treat everyone in my classroom equally...or so I thought," he
says. Brown reluctantly signed up and was immediately treated to two slides comparing AP physics
passing score results between girls and boys with equal math aptitude abilities.
"Boys were passing at a rate of about 30 percentage points more," he recalls. "The scientist in me
knew something was driving the data, and the answer was in the classroom. It was definitely an eyeopening moment for me. "Now Brown understands the classroom gender issues very well and is conducting classes on gender equity for other DISD teachers.
"Of course we all want to be equal, but in reality it's subtle things that make a difference," he says. "I
tell workshop attendees that sex is what you're born with and gender is what you learn. When girls learn
at an early age that engineering and science are not for them, they don't go into those fields...it's the
messages we send our students that make the difference."
He points to his own examples. "I learned through videotapes of my classroom that I asked follow-up
questions more to the guys. I even called on boys more often," which until he saw on video, he didn't
think he did. "When a boy would interrupt a girl in class, I allowed it. This sends a message to girls that
their thoughts aren't as important as their male counterparts."
Brown says his job is to teach and build confidence in all students. "Students with potential need to
know it and be encouraged. They may need an extra boost-whatever it takes to keep them going. It
doesn't take any extra work or preparation."
He now sees a difference in his own classroom. "Girls participate more, they speak up and support
each other. In 2006, the state of Texas graduated 2,800 engineers-400 were female. I think we can
double that number in four years just by mentoring four girls each semester. We're making real inroads."
-Alesia Ritenour

For students, the WTIF reviewed
Advanced Placement (AP) test information on boys and girls with similar
PSAT scores in 2002. "The percent of
boys who passed the AP high school
physics exam was 30 percentage points
higher than the pass rate of girls. That's
an alarming gap," says Melendy Lovett,
TI senior vice president and president,
Education Technology, a division of TI.
Lovett is a founder of WTIF.
As a result of these findings, four
years ago the group began funding a
two-week summer camp to prepare
Dallas Independent School District
(DISD) girls for physics class. The
camp is offered to
all girls in ten The Women of TI Fund
DISD schools who has fostered a number
of programs to
are part of the AP
encourage girls in the
program.
The
Dallas Independent
School District to
only requirement
is that they have pursue STEM classes,
including a summer
signed up to take camp for physics prep
and the High Heel,
physics during
High Tech workshop.
the upcoming

WINTER 2007/2008

school year and meet the prerequisites
for the course.
"Not only do the girls get hands-on
training, they also receive career counseling," says Lovett. "Many of these girls
ask what they can do with physics-they
want to know what career options are
available to them.The girls also get a lot
of positive reinforcement at camp. "Many
adolescent girls go through changes that
can negatively affect their self-confidence," Lovett says. "As a result, they
often refrain from either asking questions or sharing answers. Low self-confidence can also deter girls from enrolling
in higher level STEM courses."

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