I See A Bag Of Apples. But This Teenage Girl Sees Something Totally Different. Pretty Impressive.
Girls can do absolutely anything — as long as we give them to education and tools to do it.
Today's girls are tomorrow's engineers: creative, inquisitive, analytical, and smart. They can see solutions to everyday problems in random items like bags of apples and pencils. It's pretty amazing. And boy, do we need them.
Here are three facts you probably didn't know about women and engineering.
1. Women make up 48% of the U.S. workforce but are only 10% of U.S. engineers.
That's right. In the 21st century, women — who we know are just as smart and talented as men (we can agree on that right?) — are still sorely underrepresented in one of the professions that is central to the future.
2. Only 1 out of every 10 STEM professionals is a woman of color.
So even within the really bad statistics about women in engineering are hidden even worse stats that display another layer to the lack of diversity in STEM. How much brilliance is being wasted because young girls of color aren't being given the confidence, education, tools, and opportunities they need to pursue their wildest dreams?
3. Female engineers have already made our lives a lot better.
Women + engineering may seem like a new concept, but it's totally not. Women have been kicking butt and innovating for hundreds of years.
Emily Roebling stepped in as the first female field engineer and technical leader of the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband became paralyzed.
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper after a winter trip to New York in 1903 where she observed a driver leaving his front window open to clear falling sleet from the windshield.
And the machine to fold and glue the square bottom of a brown paper bag was invented and engineered by Margaret E. Knight in 1868.
Who knew?
Women have so much to add to the world of engineering. So how can we change those dismal STEM stats and dispel the myth that women can't be engineers?
Be engineers.
We must give girls the space, support, and education they need to follow their dreams in every area of engineering — material, chemistry, aerospace, technology, etc. — and build dope things for the rest of us.
Check out the super-inspiring video below that drives home that point with a combination of really smart/adorable girls and successful/kickass women engineers.
