You can Change the World & Like the Technical Challenge, Too
How has the CTC platform promoted women as social beings rather than technical beings? Am I perpetuating a stereotype in my singular effort to deny another? It is not an either/or!
Engineering: Must women “be” men?
What does it take for women to succeed in engineering? Must women “be men” to survive in these industries? Read more…
Skipping the Holidays: A Social Experiment
What would happen if you skipped every “American” holiday from Halloween to Easter? I am not certain, but I realize I have ventured into what I am calling a social experiment. I am living in a rural coastal village in the southeast of Puerto Rico. My home for the last month and coming six months, […]
Influence of Social Capital on the STEM Pipeline
The STEM pipeline is a national imperative, and this essay examines the theory of social capital, as described in Nan Lin’s book, Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action, and aims to provide a new perspective by extrapolating the potential influence social capital has on the STEM pipeline, specifically women and engineering, from K-12, to university, and into industry.
That’s a Horse of a Different Color! Race, ethnicity, nationality, & culture
Click your heels, and repeat, “There’s no place like home!” That’s what it may take to fully understand your race and ethnicity. Read more…
10 Reasons Women (may) Struggle in STEM
TeachingDegree.org has compiled a list of the top 10 reasons why they think women struggle in STEM. Check out their blog post here. Make sure to click on the headings for each reason for a link to an online supporting article on that blog post. Here is their list: Men are favored over women in […]
“I made it in engineering without help. They will too.” There is a problem, and They do need help!
“I made it in engineering without help. If these young women are meant to be engineers, they will too,” explained a female High School Engineering teacher. I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard this woman utter these words after I asked how she recruited and retained young women into her classes. Assuming […]
A White Researcher Thinks About Race
Have you ever been the “only one?” The only female, the only African American, the only extrovert, the only one overweight, the only redhead? What does it feel like to be “only one?” What did it feel like as an adolescent to be the “only one?” [pp 3, 91] Any different than as an adult? According […]
Cubiclephobia: Death of the cubicle
Is a job about producing value or about being seen in your cube when your manager walks by? Is a job about creating, innovating, and leading, or being tethered to a grey cubicle? How do you think outside the box, if the box you are assigned to stifles all creativity and innovation? In the late […]
STEM, STEAM, STREAM…. SCREAM?!
Is it STEM or STEAM? Why not STREAM? This battle of acronyms makes me want to SCREAM! I am not sure how long the acronym STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) has been around, but the new buzzword is STEAM (sprinkle in the Arts), and it seems to be gaining steam in popularity. Why not […]