Only 8.5 percent of employed engineers and 16.4 percent of
working scientists in the U.S. are women. Nearly five times
as many boys as girls take the Advanced Placement exam in
computer science. Too many girls still get the message that
math and science are not for them.
By 2005, women will constitute 48 percent of the US labor
force. Unless today's girls acquire the skills they need to
survive in the information age, tomorrow's women will remain
at the bottom of the wage scale - in service, sales, and clerical
jobs. Looking toward the future, Girls Incorporated launched
Operation SMARTSM
(Science, Math, and Relevant Technology) in 1985. In 35 states
across the country, close to a quarter of a million girls
between the ages of 6 and 18 have started on the path to becoming
auto mechanics, microsurgeons and astronauts. They're asking
questions, making guesses, and taking chances.
Our Answer:
Assume girls are interested in math, science, and
technology. Research shows that parents, teachers
and other adults typically expect girls not to perform as
well as boys in science, math and related subjects regardless
of their true potential or demonstrated abilities. At Girls
Incorporated sites, girls jump at the opportunity to dismantle
machines, care for small animals and solve logic puzzles.
Instead of struggling to get the boys to share the tools,
in an all-girl environment girls can focus on the task at
hand and have fun at the same time.
Let girls make big, interesting mistakes.
Girls who are overly protected in the lab or on the playground
have few chances to assess risks and solve problems on their
own. At Girls Incorporated, once dreaded mistakes become hypotheses.
Girls are urged to go back to the drawing board to figure
out, together, why their newly-assembled electric door alarm
doesn't work or their water filter gets clogged. Supported
by adults instead of rescued, girls learn to embrace their
curiosity, face their fear, and trust their own judgment.
Help girls to get past the "yuk" factor.
Between 1992 and 1995, young women were outnumbered nearly
eight to one when taking a College Board Advanced Placement
Test in computer science. This gap reflects the barrier of
low expectations that girls continue to face in male-dominated
fields. Girls Incorporated teaches girls that they are not
only capable of mastering math and science, they're expected
to continue to do so throughout high school and college. They
learn that their ambition is as natural as boys'--and as necessary,
if they are to become leaders of the 21st century.
Through a three-year grant from the National Science Foundation,
Girls Incorporated offers "Teaching SMART" - a program for
certified teachers presently teaching in public or private
schools. For information, contact us at (413) 532-6247.
Results:
A preliminary program evaluation reveals that the more a
girl participates in Operation SMART, the more favorable her
attitude toward studying science and math. Girls told evaluators
that due to Operation SMART, they would use science and math
as adults.
