Challenging Daughters

Girls Scouts Get New, Updated Badges; Reflect Science & Technology

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:44:03 +0000

Girl Scouts will soon have new, up-to-date badges for their vests and sashes, aimed at promoting financial literacy, public policy and website design. Learn more.

Women & Mobile: An Empowering Partnership

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:39:02 +0000

According to a report published by the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and the GSMA, Women and Mobile: A Global Opportunity, cell phones improve women’s lives: 93 percent of female mobile phone users feel safer with a phone, 85 percent feel more independent, and 41 percent use their phones to increase their income and professional opportunities. Moreover, closing the gender gap is not only good for women and development, it’s good for business. Adding 300 million women subscribers could generate $13 billion in immediate incremental revenue for mobile phone operators. Such statistics indicate that there is much to be gained by empowering women through mobile technology. Learn more.

NSF, White House Support Career-Life Balance Initiative for Women in the Sciences

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 20:33:39 +0000

A National Science Foundation initiative to help retain more women in science careers received the backing of the White House. The Career-Life Balance Initiative is a ten-year plan designed to give scientists more flexibility with having a family and still maintaining their careers. One part of the plan will allow scientists to delay research grant awards for up to a year when they go on parental leave for a newborn or adopted child. Learn more.

Bentley University Launches National Center for Women and Business

Marisa Peacock — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:51:26 +0000

Bentley University, one of the nation’s leading business schools, today announced the launch of the Center for Women and Business to advance shared leadership among women and men in the business world and develop women business leaders. The Center will be led by Betsy Meyser, former senior adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and COO and chair of Women for Obama. Read more.

Keeping Women in the Science Pipeline

Marisa Peacock — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:47:16 +0000

A recent study out of the University of California, Berkeley on “Keeping Women in the Science Pipeline” found that one of the reasons many women graduate students leave research careers is because paid parental leave after the birth of a child is so difficult for graduate students to obtain. Read full story.

Celebrating Twenty Years of Women in Science

Marisa Peacock — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:42:07 +0000

Dartmouth College is celebrating the 20th anniversary of a project aimed at getting more women to major in science, math and engineering. Since the Woman in Science Project began, the number of women majoring in those subjects has grown from 45 to 102. Read more.

The Need For and Benefits of Women & STEM

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:35:20 +0000

It is important for schools to push girls as early as possible to enter STEM professions and encourage a diversity of perspectives in the STEM job landscape. A recent article in the Collegiate Times outlines the importance of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Read the full article.

Have You Played Video Games With Your Daughter Today?

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:11:45 +0000

According to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, gaming may be good for teen girls’ mental health — so long as they play with their parents. A Times Magazine article addresses the benefits that video gaming and parental interaction can have on adolescent girls. Read the full article.

Girls Don’t Have Enough Cootees

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:06:35 +0000

Is there greater pressure for girls to be cleaner than boys? New research suggests that girls might need to get dirtier and germ-ier in an effort to stay healthy and resist illness. In an NPR article, Whitney Blair Wyckoff writes:

In an article in the peer-reviewed journal Social Science and Medicine, Sharyn Clough, a philosopher of science at Oregon State University who studies research bias, says young girls are held to a higher standard of cleanliness than young boys, a discrepancy that could help explain later health differences.

Girls Institute Offers Opportunity for Girls to be Themselves

Marisa Peacock — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:47:03 +0000

The New York Time recently went inside Rachel Simmons’ Girls Leadership Institute, which directs camps and workshops designed to teach girls, educators and parents the core practices of emotional intelligence, healthy relationships, and assertive self-expression. Read the full article.