In our experience, professionals welcome the opportunity to help a student who is eager to learn.
Tips to Encourage Girls in
Technology, Science, and Engineering
As a parent or interested adult, you can make a significant difference in a girl's future. Here are 12 ways to actively encourage girls in technology, science, and engineering.
- Encourage your daughter to persevere when she is faced with a difficult challenge. Although some girls may want to give up when faced with a setback, they will work through problems when encouraged. This trait is especially important when working in technical or scientific pursuits.
- Make sure that girls get their fair share of computer use. A student in Techbridge told us that her family had a computer but she never got to use it because her brother didn't let her! Unfortunately, this is not so unusual. In some homes the computer is in the boy's bedroom.
- Building blocks, LEGO kits, and rockets make great gifts for girls (as well as boys). These toys are fun and educational and can help launch a career in engineering.
- Give a girl a biography of a female pioneer—past or present—in science. Discuss how this role model used her accomplishments to improve the world and how she found personal and professional satisfaction in her work.
- Encourage your daughter to take technology classes at her school, especially advanced courses in design and programming. During the summer, encourage her (and her friends) to enroll in a robotics camp. All too often we find that boys enroll in these classes that give them a head start toward a promising future in technology and engineering.
- Discuss with your daughter her plans for the future. It’s never too early to begin to consider career options. Make certain that she is taking the courses she needs to prepare for her intended major or career.
- Hold high expectations and encourage your daughter to enroll in advanced math and science classes. These classes will give her a competitive edge when she applies to college and will give her more career options. Be certain that she is taking classes in middle school that put her on the Advanced Placement track.
- Keep involved in your daughter’s life. In middle school and high school, students especially need the support and guidance of adults even when they seem to suggest they don’t.
- Help a girl find a mentor who can help answer questions about careers in technology, science, and engineering and how to get there. In our experience, professionals welcome the opportunity to help a student who is eager to learn.
- Encourage girls to explore different career options by helping them find adults that they can job shadow. Find out if there is a Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day program that your daughter could participate in on the fourth Thursday in April. Summer is also great time for children to visit the workplace and learn about different careers.
- Encourage your daughter to create a portfolio that documents her achievements and helps her set goals she can work towards. Encourage her to find some community-service projects that allow her to put to use her scientific and technical skills and to document these efforts through digital photographs or video for her portfolio.
- Look for examples of how technology and engineering are used to improve the world. Many girls express interest in careers that make the world a better place but may not realize how technology and engineering are compatible with such an interest. Find examples in the news to discuss with girls.
