Commentary: Engineering Industry Must Increase Efforts to Attract Female Students

Writing in the July/August edition of E: The Environmental Magazine, editorial intern Julie Karceski argued that the industry needs to follow the lead of programs that are designed to attract female students:

The fraction of engineering degrees that go to women hovers around 20% and has not changed significantly in the past decade. ... This gender gap is hampering technological advances in environmentalism. ...

To appeal to young women, the focal points need to be shifted to the people-side of engineering: working in teams, solving problems in a community, helping people connect through better technology.

Additionally, programs such as Engineers Without Borders, which improves the quality of life in third-world countries, can draw in those women who are led by their ideals, and a desire to impact the lives of those in need.

"Young women need to understand that engineering is not just about motors, circuits and fancy calculators," Karceski wrote. "It’s a profession that’s directly responsible for creating cleaner waterways, greener homes and a safer food supply. Bringing more women into the fold moves our communities and our environment in the right direction."

Congress Explores Gender Inequities in Math, Science, Technology Education

According to a July 22 press release from the House Science and Technology Committee, the organization's Research and Science Education Subcommittee recently held hearings on ways to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) among female students in primary and secondary schools:

According to a recent assessment by the National Association of Educational Progress, there is a small but persistent gap in performance within STEM education between boys and girls in primary and secondary schools -- less than one percent for math and less than three percent for science.

Many researchers believe that issues such as self-confidence and perceived expectations negatively affect the achievement of girls on standardized tests.

"We need to make sure that we have the scientific and technical workforce we need if we are to remain a leader in the global economy," said Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), "and it is not possible to do this without developing and encouraging all the talent in our nation."

Many Teen Girls Experience Sexual Harrassment at Work

Does your daughter have a part-time or summer job? If so, you should talk to her about sexual harassment and safety issues.

A study from the University of Southern Maine found that 46 percent of teenage girls had been sexually harassed at work, and 3 percent were raped. Lawyers from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who report an increase in the number of sexual harassment cases all over the country, are responding with educational programs to protect young women in particular.

Dr. Christie Nicholson, an expert on adolescent sexual trauma, said predators often target polite, obedient, well-behaved girls. "These are the ones who say, 'Please, can I do anything for you?'" she said. "Men know they can manipulate these girls because they are likely to respond with silence."

Indiana University law professor Jennifer Drobac agreed.

"They're used to doing what mom and dad say, what their teachers say, and what their coaches say," she said. "Yet the legal system expects these girls to confront their workplace authority figure and say, 'That's completely inappropriate conduct on your part.'"

Boys are less likely than girls to face sexual harassment at work, but they are not immune from the problem.

Peer Judgment Affects Girls More as They Age

A study by Dr. Amanda E. Guyer of the National Institute of Mental Health has revealed that the influence of peer pressure on girls becomes more intense as the girls age.

A July 15 Reuters Health article provided the following details:

In her research at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Guyer used a technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at oxygen consumption within specific regions of the brain, with the goal of finding out how teens' brain activity corresponds to the dramatic changes that are happening in their social behavior. ...

Among the girls, the researchers found, the difference in activation of emotion-related brain areas between when they thought about a "high-interest" peer evaluating them and when they thought about a "low-interest" peer doing so increased as a girl got older.

While a younger girl's "socioeconomic calculus" might be directed toward avoiding low-interest peers, the researchers suggest, older girls may focus more on approaching high-interest peers.

Guyler's study involved 34 boys and girls ages nine to 17. The brains of the boys who were studied did not appear to be affected by age in the manner that the girls' brains were.

CDC Releases New Teen Sex Statistics

Data release by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate troubling trends in teen sexual activity and sex education. According to a July 16 Reuters article, the CDC evaluated hundreds of studies involving subjects ages 10 to 25 to make the following determinations:

• Among 18 and 19-year-olds, 49.8 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys had talked with a parent about methods of birth control.
• Thirty percent of girls aged 15 to 17 reported they had engaged in sex; this rose to 70.6 of girls aged 18 to 19.
• Nearly 10 percent of young women aged 18 to 24 said their first intercourse was involuntary.
• Among boys aged 15 to 19, cases of HIV infection rose from 1.3 cases per 100,000 in 1997 to 2.5 cases in 2006.
• After having decreased dramatically between 1997 and 2005, syphilis rates for females aged 15 to 19 rose from 1.5 cases per 100,000 in 2004 to 2.2 cases per 100,000 in 2006

On a somewhat positive note, the CDC discovered that more than eight out of 10 survey respondent said they had received formal instruction on how to say no to sex. Also, almost 70 percent of teen girls and 66 percent of boys had received instruction on methods of birth control.

Punishments, Peer Pressure Impact Girls' Clothing Decisions

A study from Brock University in Canada found that peer group pressure keeps girls from dressing too sexy.

Dr. Rebecca Raby conducted focus group interviews with girls ages 13 to 21 years old.

• The girls told Dr. Raby that they were afraid to dress too provocatively because they would be called names like "slut," "whore," or "skank."
• They also said that school dress codes were unfairly enforced.
• For example, girls with larger breasts were more likely to face consequences if they dressed in a provocative way.
• School authorities were more likely to reprimand girls with alternative fashion styles than the "cheerleader" types.

"Girls still have to negotiate a really difficult place, and that's that they are expected to look attractive and they are expected to wear popular fashions, and yet if they err just a little bit one way or another -- just a little bit too much cleavage or too much skin in one place or another -- then they risk being called a slut," Dr. Raby said.

Arizona Counselors Use Equine Therapy to Help Veterans Overcome Combat Trauma

A June 21 Associated Press article reports that therapists in Arizona are incorporating horses into therapeutic efforts to assist war veterans who are suffering from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other forms of combat-related trauma:

"When I first heard about it, I thought, 'Are they kidding?' " said Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Richard Quinn, who returned from Iraq in 2007 with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But after a recent weekend spent communing with Kairos, a hulking black draft horse, Quinn is a believer in the power of equine-assisted psychotherapy.

Almost immediately, he said, "I started feeling more relaxed and at ease" -- a boon because Quinn, who served as a convoy commander overseas, has had few peaceful moments postwar. "My wife says I cry in my sleep," said Quinn, 48, of Bisbee, whose convoys were hit twice by roadside bombs.

The AP article notes that horses and other animals have been used to help individuals who are struggling with a variety of physical, mental, and emotional challenges.

A study that was conducted at Copper Canyon Academy has documented the many benefits of equine therapy for girls.

Pregnancy Prevention Program Pays Girls to Not Get Pregnant

A pregnancy prevention program in North Carolina is taking an innovative -- and controversial -- approach toward motivating young girls (ages 12 to 18) not to get pregnant.

According to a June 25 article by Joshua Rhett Miller of FOX News, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro's College Bound Sisters program pays participants a dollar a day for not getting pregnant:

Girls in the program attend 90-minute meetings every week at which they receive lessons in abstinence and the use of contraceptives — and they receive $7 every week they do not get pregnant. The money is deposited into a fund that's collectible when they enroll in college. ...

To participate, girls must have never been pregnant, be enrolled in school, have a desire to attend college and have had a sister who gave birth before age 18. ...

But not everyone thinks paying kids to stay childless is the right way to lower the teen pregnancy rate. They say the program sends mixed messages, specifically to parents, that incentivizing good behavior is the way to go.

"It makes me a bit uneasy," said Bill Albert, chief program officer at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "I do have mixed feelings. It's hard to pay people to do something that we think they should be doing regardless. It would be like if you didn't want young people to experiment with marijuana, you'd pay them not to do it."

Dr. Hazel Brown, one of the program's co-directors, told Miller that only six of the 125 girls who have been enrolled in the program for six months or longer have gotten pregnant. College Bound Sisters has been in operation since 1997.

College Student Benefits from Service with Troubled Teen Girls

Two years after a tutoring program matched her with a resident of a home for at-risk girls, Penn State University student Eliza Zimmerer continues to return to Stormbreak, a home that is run by the Centre County (Pa.) Youth Service Bureau.

According to a July 7 Centre Daily Times article by Gail Franklin, the Stormbreak residents aren't the only ones who have benefitted from Zimmerer's volunteer service:

[Zimmerer] has made it a point to be as consistent as possible, to listen to the girls, helping when she can and knowing when she can't. Stormbreak serves girls in transition, and includes a therapeutic component.

"Being a teenage girl, it's a really powerful time in your life. So much is going on, especially with school," Zimmerer said. "Even though I was from a well-to-do family with supportive parents, I struggled with the normal teenage things."

Zimmerer, who said that she plans to become a teacher, told the Daily Times that her service at Stormbreak has taught her "more than any class or textbook."

Films Encourage Teens to Try Tobacco

It does not matter if a movie character is a "good guy" or a "bad guy" -- either one can persuade teenagers to start smoking, according to a new study from Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth College.

Dr. Susanne Tanski and her colleagues found that some teenagers are actually more influenced by "bad guy" movie smokers.

"It is true that bad guys are more often smokers in the movies, but there really are not that many bad guys compared to good guys," Dr. Tanski wrote in the journal Pediatrics, which published her study. "Episode for episode, youths who saw negative characters smoking were more likely to start smoking, but since overall there is so much more exposure to good guy smokers, the net effect is similar."

Dr. Tanski suggested that parents limit the number of movies their children watch, and that they restrict their child's viewing of R-rated movies, which feature more smokers.

Smoking among teen girls is on the rise -- and has surpassed the prevalence of tobacco use by teen boys. Many experts believe that rising rates of smoking are associated with increases in alcohol and drug abuse by teen girls.

Dads Play Important Role in Helping Daughters Develop Healthy Self-Esteem

More and more parents are worried about the impact our culture is making on young girls' self-esteem, and much has been written about the positive impact that moms can have on their daughters. Dads, however, may not realize that they can make a strong, positive impact as well.

That might be because dads don't see themselves as that important to their daughters, writes father-daughter relationship expert Linda Nielsen ...

However ... research has found that daughters who have healthy relationships with their dads tend to be more self-reliant, self-confident and successful, and less likely to develop eating disorders. (Source: PsychCentral)

Dads are uniquely positioned to address bad and inaccurate messages in the media with their daughters, help their daughters analyze and understand marketing strategies, and sift through the misinformation about beauty and self-confidence -- all of which can go a long way toward helping girls develop healthy self-esteem.

Boston Group Uses Equine Therapy to Help Girls Overcome Emotional Challenges

Copper Canyon Academy has long recognized the many benefits of equine therapy for girls.

According to a June 14 article by Jesse Bunchan of the Record-Journal newspaper, a non-profit group in the Boston area has also found success incorporating horses into therapeutic programs for girls who are struggling with a number of emotional challenges:

Soul Friends [is] a non-profit company begun in 2003 that provides animal-assisted therapy to children with depression, grief, trauma and emotional disorders.

Soul Friends founder and president Kate Nicoll said the six-week Horses Inspire program has been run twice before, and last month received a $3,000 grant from the Meriden-based James H. Napier Foundation.

Nicoll, a social worker, said she doesn't "use" animals in her therapy. "I prefer 'partner,'" she said. "It has to be a partnership." ...

Animal-assisted therapy can act as a link between the child and her therapist. Children who have attachment issues can build a relationship with the animal to rebuild confidence, according to Nicoll.

"Animal-assisted therapy is very effective when talk therapy hasn't worked or when talk therapy is too threatening," Nicoll told the Record-Journal. "It's not just sitting in the office and talking ... you can talk, talk, talk and sometimes not change your behavior."

Student Says Her Boarding School Promotes Unhealthy Attitudes Toward Women

In a June 16 post on the Feministing blog, registered community member CassidyF (who identified herself as a student at a coed private boarding school for students in grades nine to 12) expressed her frustration at being treated like a second-class citizen because she is female:

Boarding schools have rebranded themselves in the past few decades as diverse, inclusive, egalitarian institutions. And this is, to a large extent, true. ...

Last year, my school celebrated its 25th year of coeducation (it is nearly 200 years old), touting the achievements of its female students, both past and present. Indeed, it is girls and not boys who dominate on campus. For example, the prize awarded to the dorm with the highest GPA has gone to a girls' dorm every year since 1991.

Yet female students have been largely failed by the institution that benefits so much from their personal success. Just look at our recent Senior School Meeting. It was boys who directed it, boys who starred in it, and boys who left feeling good about it. I can't speak for every girl in the audience that, but I for one (plus my friend, two) could not feel good about it at all.

"I don't think I've ever been in a room so testosterone-filled in my entire life," I said later to my friend.

Not every boarding school experience is this frustrating for female students, of course. For example, a number of highly respected and effective boarding schools for girls have helped female students to achieve academic success while boosting their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth.