In high school, girls only take 17 percent of computer-science AP tests. They earn only 18 percent of computer and information-science degrees in college, and they make up just under a quarter of computer and math professionals. A recent article in Newsweek seeks to identify the reasons why the gender gap persists and what can be done to fix it.
Archive for the ‘Girls’ Category
Daughters & Role Models
In Education, Girls, Media & Technology on June 27, 2010 at 8:48 pmA recent Boston.com blog called In the Parenthood offered ten tips for parents for talking to their daughters about the importance of role models, media literacy and self confidence.
10 Lessons for Daughters from The Council of Dads
In Education, Girls, Leadership on June 21, 2010 at 9:21 amBruce Feller recently published a book called The Council of Dads, which gathers the life lessons from dads and various father figures in the author’s life. In a recent Huffington Post article he offered up ten llife lessons for girls, including:
- Be a Traveler, Not a Tourist
- Always Pack Your Flip-Flops
- Use Your Words
As we celebrate Father’s Day, what advice do dads have for daughters?
Title IX Helps Girls Get Jobs
In Education, Girls, Leadership on June 14, 2010 at 7:51 amIn her paper Beyond the Classroom: Using Title IX to Measure the Return to High School Sports, Wharton business and public policy professor Betsey Stevenson offers evidence that playing sports leads to more education and better employment opportunities. Her paper focuses on Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which expanded high school athletic opportunities for girls. Her research compares the variation in outcomes across states for girls who went to school before Title IX and after, and concludes that playing sports paid off.
According to Stevenson, the skills associated with athletic participation and success later in life “may include the ability to communicate, the ability to work well with others, competitiveness, assertiveness and discipline.” Read more.
Experts and Activists Help Women Deliver
In Conferences, Girls, Government, Leadership, Uncategorized on May 26, 2010 at 3:30 pmIn less than two weeks the world’s leading voices on advancing the lives and livelihoods of women and girls around the world will come together in Washington, D.C., for the 2010 Women Deliver Summit. The summit features speakers from Melinda Gates, Anthony Lake, Shadi Sadr to Christiane Amanpour, Annie Lennox, and Christy Turlington Burns and hopes to kick start a new era of global action as we enter the second decade of the 21st century.
The theme of the conference is: “Delivering solutions for girls and women,” and plans to focus on political, economic, social/cultural, and technological solutions, as well as expand on Women Deliver’s hallmark of inclusivity, reaching out to new partners and new communities.
Girl Geek Appeal
In Girls, Media & Technology, Uncategorized on May 24, 2010 at 7:50 amWomen may still be a minority in the technology industry but they are establishing strong support networks to stay connected. A recent BBC news article addresses the appeal, growing global phenomena and implications of tech-feminism of “girl geek.” Read the full article.
Carnegie Science Center Wins Grant Aimed at Engaging Girls with Science & Technology
In Education, Girls, Media & Technology, Uncategorized on May 18, 2010 at 9:40 amThe Carnegie Science Center has won $200,000 in the MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition for a new project designed to get more girls engaged in science and gaming technology.
The project, Click!Online, will be a Web-based game for girls featuring a fictional “spy school” called the Click! Agency. Through the agency, girls will network to solve mysteries in biomedical science, environmental protection and expressive technology. Meanwhile, online “senior agents” will mentor the players, emphasizing critical thinking, problem solving, group sourcing and social action to solve real-world challenges. Spy girls can share results with each other around the world.
The Science Center’s award was one of 10 announced Monday, chosen from a pool of 800 applicants from 32 countries. They will share $1.7 million to use on games, mobile phone applications, virtual worlds and social networks.
Calling all girls! Join a day of math, science fun
In Conferences, Education, Girls, Uncategorized on May 12, 2010 at 9:11 amThe 5th annual Expanding Your Horizons Math and Science Conference is Saturday May 22 at the Cooperative Middle School in Stratham, NH.
The conference is organized by the Exeter Area General Federation of Women’s Club, the Greater Seacoast Girls Initiative and sponsored by local businesses. This is a great opportunity for girls to be exposed to the math, science and technology careers in a fun, hands-on experience with friends. This free, all-day workshop, is open to any girl in Grades 6 to 8. Because of the success achieved in the past four years, spaces available for the girls is up to 180.
Registration deadline is Friday, May 14! Don’t delay!
SciGirls Shows Girls Doing Science-y Things
In Girls, Media & Technology, Uncategorized on May 9, 2010 at 6:39 pmSciGirls, a new PBS KIDS weekly series and website, is out to change how millions of tween girls think about science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM!
The show aims to portray girls engaged in projects that make physics, math, biology and other subjects seem fun. The New York Times says that “it succeeds admirably, primarily because it uses real kids in all their awkward, giggly glory, not the Stepford-like youths seen in Disney shows.”
SciGirls is generously funded by The National Science Foundation with additional support from ExxonMobil.
