If you have ever felt insecure about pursuing the life of an engineer or feel alone because you are a minority in a (very) male-dominated professional field, this post is for you.
Whether you are a girl who dreams of being an engineer, a student with a degree in engineering or already an engineer, at some point in life there are serious challenges and struggles.
To help you on your journey, we've compiled a comprehensive list of resources for girls who are passionate about engineering, to help you overcome some of the challenges and questions you may have along this fantastic journey.
Introduce a girl to engineering:
Who decides that boys can build trucks with Lego and girls can play with dolls? Young women should have the same opportunity to build and be exposed to female engineering role models. Here we've put together excellent resources to encourage and engage young women in engineering.
Tedx: Inspiring the next generation of female engineers
In this inspiring Ted Talk, Debbie Sterling, engineer and founder of GoldieBlox, shared her journey to becoming an engineer despite all the challenges she faced.
Men are considered to have better spatial skills than women, which is a fundamental skill in engineering. However, Debbie has discovered that spatial skills are something that can be developed through practice, and boys have traditionally developed these skills since they were children by building things with Lego.
However, girls are often led down a stereotypical pink aisle in the toy store, filled with dolls and makeup kits. What if girls play with engineering toys for girls that can also help them develop spatial skills? And that's how Debbie created GoldieBlox.
GoldieBlox: Engineering Toys for Girls
GoldieBlox is the world's first building toy that features an engineer character. Obsessed with the idea of breaking through the pink aisle, Debbie created GoldieBlox to introduce girls to the joy of engineering from a young age.
Launched on Kickstarter, GoldieBlox reached its goal after just 4 days and raised $285,881 from over 5,500 total backers. Through the narrative of a girl inventor who likes to build, GoldieBlox helps girls discover and develop an interest in engineering, just like Lego does for boys.
Film: Hidden Figures
Hidden Figures tells the story of three African-American mathematicians who played vital roles at NASA in the 1960s. As the U.S. competed with Russia to send the first human into space, these three female mathematicians served as the main brainpower behind this largest operation in US history.
With great intelligence and brilliance, these women challenged prejudices against race, gender and professional stereotypes, accomplished something that had never happened before in the history of humanity and, finally, achieved recognition and respect in a prejudiced society.
The power of this story is that it inspires us women to dream big and fight for our rights, whether it's around our race, our gender, our talent or our potential in STEM.
Wonder Women: 25 innovators, inventors and pioneers who changed history
A geek girl herself, author Sam Maggs writes frequently about pop culture and geek culture, intersecting with gender perception. In this picture book, Maggs captures the incredible achievements of 25 wonderful women who are scientists, inventors, engineers, mathematicians, adventurers, and so on.
These brilliant women in STEM have achieved incredible things despite facing serious challenges and obstacles. The book also includes interviews with real-life women in STEM and a guide to women-centered science and technology organizations.
TV Show: Nerdy Girls
Nerd Girls produces content that inspires girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, art and math. It was founded by Dr. Karen Panetta, a professor at Tufts University. Early on, she founded the Nerd Girls Club to inspire her female engineering students and fight stereotypes about women in engineering.
This year, a revolutionary talk show called Nerd Girl Nation will launch, which involves humorous hosts having fun with guests and young, passionate women doing exciting things in the STEAM fields.
The show was founded by IEEE and will launch on November 5, 2018. The first season will invite 16 brilliant women to share their stories of being nerdy girls.
Girl Scout STEM Program
What's special about Girl Scouts is that they offer programs that involve real-life career skills like STEM, outdoor activities, life skills, and entrepreneurship. The STEM Girl Scouts program includes 5 different journeys: engineering, computer science, space science, robotics, and mechanical engineering.
These journeys encourage girls to explore STEM from a young age, in an all-female environment, with lots of support from female mentors and role models. They have the opportunity to build a robot, create an app, invent a medical device, develop a video game, design a car and study the stars…. Anything they dream of, and I can guarantee there are a lot of girls out there dreaming of building things.
Comics: Constança and Nano
Created by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Constance and Nano is a free comic series that empowers girls to become engineers. The story follows two girls on engineering adventures and solving science, engineering, technology and mathematics problems.
Two editions have been released in this series and you can download them for free. Through Constance and Nano, SWE also encourages girls to learn about the SWENext program and become part of the Society of Women Engineers.
Workshops for girls: Robogals
Robogals has a vision of creating a global culture of inclusion and diversity in engineering. It runs free engineering and technology workshops in local communities to encourage school-age girls to explore and cultivate an interest in engineering and technology.
These workshops are taught by volunteers who are university students or young professionals of all genders, with knowledge ranging from engineering to law and commerce. One of the biggest impacts of these workshops is that young women meet female role models in the STEM field, who can inspire them to pursue a career and life in the STEM field in the future.
Redefining the face of STEM: Girl-Powered
The initiative is launched by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation (REC) in conjunction with VEX Robotics, with the mission of doubling the number of girls in robotics over the next five years.
Girl Powered provides support and tools for teachers, coaches, event partners, and mentors to organize workshops and activities that engage girls in STEM and robotics. A successful event would have 20 to 30 attendees and be held at a local school, library, or community center.
In addition to workshops and events, Girl Powered also offers scholarships to teachers and mentors who lead a VEX team with more than 50% female participants.
How to Find a School That's STEM-Friendly for Women
Obtaining an education is the first step to a successful future career in engineering, and being in a female-friendly environment is very important to a student's success in the STEM field. Not to mention avoiding a hostile woman.
To help guide your search, we've rounded up top resources about US colleges for girls studying STEM.
As this is constantly evolving, we'd love your help keeping it up to date. So if you know of any great resources we missed, please let us know in the comments!
Hidden Gems for Women in STEM: 2018
This list was created by College Raptor and qualifies colleges as hidden gems for women wanting to study STEM courses based on 4 criteria: receiving less than 5,000 applications per year, or less than 40% of applications received by all schools in that state, have fewer than 7,000 undergraduate students enrolled, at least 30% of degrees awarded are STEM, the highest percentage of women receiving STEM degrees.
50 Best Colleges for Women: Schools to Attend If You Want to Excel in STEM (2017)
ENTITY created this list of the Top 50 Colleges for Women in STEM based on data covering four key criteria: resources and support for female students, percentage of women in STEM majors, alumni earning potential 10 years after graduation graduation and lack of sexual violence against women on campuses. And yes, the fact that this criterion has to be included is crazy.
Top 13 STEM Colleges for Women (2016)
This list was created by Forbes using its 2016 Best Value College Rankings, determining which schools are helping launch women into STEM professions. According to the data, these 13 schools have the highest attendance rate of women in STEM specialties.
Best Online Schools for Women in STEM 2018
Published by Guide To Online Schools, this updated resource list includes 76 online schools that have demonstrated support for female students in the STEM field and therefore may be great options for girls pursuing degrees in STEM.
Both annual tuition fees and STEM-friendly scores are indicated in the list. 5 schools are highlighted with a PowerToFly badge, indicating their dedication and initiatives to empower women to start and succeed in their STEM careers.
The list also chose the top 15 online schools that support women in STEM and provided more detailed information about them. These 15 schools not only have high percentages of female STEM students and a variety of online STEM courses, but they also scored the highest possible for their online presence supporting women in STEM fields.
How to get your first engineering job
After finishing your studies, one big challenge remains: finding your first job in engineering. No matter how many jobs there are, it can still be difficult to find the right one. So here you will find websites that bring together job opportunities from companies in the engineering field, and also offer support such as CV review and career introduction so that students can find their first dream job in engineering.
SWE Career Center
SWE Career Center is the leading e-recruiting resource for leading engineering and technology companies.
WEPAN Career Center
The WEPAN Career Center lists a number of engineering job opportunities and also offers a free resume review for candidates.
EngineerGirl Engineering Careers
EngineerGirl lists a wide range of possible careers in engineering, such as aerospace engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering. Within each career path, there are introductions to career, education, lifestyle, salary, and example roles. There are also profiles of members working in this area and question and answer sections. Resources relevant to each area can also be found for each career path. This is a great resource for girls who are thinking about a career in engineering.
Career Opportunities for New York Engineers
Here at NY-Engineers, we operate across the country and internationally, and I would be remiss if I didn't let you know that we are always looking for more great female engineers to join us. We offer great career advancement and exciting projects in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sprinkler and fire protection engineering services, and that's not even the entire list. Our career center lists all current job opportunities and we strongly encourage all female engineers to apply because this is a great place to work and we would love for more great people to join!
How to find your community as an engineer:
There may be a limited number of engineering students at your school or work, but there are large communities with tens of thousands of girls and women like you and me. Participating in these communities is a great way to gain that sense of belonging, build lasting friendships, find mentors and role models, and most importantly, help us continue to grow as amazing engineers.
IEEE Women in Engineering (IEEE WIE)
IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization for advancing technology, and IEEE Women in Engineering is the world's leading community for women in engineering and science. Its vibrant network connects more than 20,000 members in over 100 countries.
To join the community, you can become a member of your local Affinity Group or become a volunteer. IEEE WIE has more than 800 affinity groups around the world that host events and activities such as workshops, seminars, and lectures. These Affinity Groups are also the best place to start volunteering.
In addition to providing excellent resources and networks, and hosting numerous events, IEEE WIE is also a community where women in engineering can develop lasting friendships, connect with mentors, and meet role models.
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
Founded in 1950, the Society of Women Engineers is an international organization with nearly 30,000 members from all engineering and technology disciplines. It was created to empower women to reach their full potential in engineering careers and ensure gender parity and equality in engineering and technology.
SWE is a comprehensive community that provides members with learning materials, research resources, career opportunities, scholarships, grants, events and awards. It also has a dedicated K-12 outreach program designed to empower girls with a career in engineering.
SWE also organizes the world's largest conference for women engineers WE18, with the theme Let's Break Boundaries. The conference is proud to be the largest gathering of women engineers across all major disciplines. This year, WE18 will be held October 18-20 in Minneapolis.
Women in Engineering Proactive Network (WEPAN)
Women in Engineering ProActive Network is a nonprofit educational organization in North America founded in 1990 to increase the success of women in engineering.
WEPAN has a network of more than 900 members, including leaders, advocates, and supporters from 200 universities, colleges, community colleges, government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations.
As a WEPAN member, you can enjoy access to learning resources, career opportunities, and a network of experts and industry leaders.
engineer girl
Created by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), EngineerGirl is a website designed to bring national attention to exciting opportunities in engineering for girls and women. In 2001, NAE brought together a group of bright, energetic girls from the US and Canada and created the Girls Advisory Council. With input from the Girls Advisory Board, EngineerGirl was launched.
The site serves as an excellent resource for girls in STEM. It brings together information such as scholarships for women in STEM, career advice, stories from other female engineers, history of women in engineering, etc. It also organizes contests and opportunities for girls to ask adult female engineers questions.
How to find mentors as women in engineering:
Research shows that a lack of female mentors and role models is one of the main reasons why there are so few women working in STEM. Finding a mentor who will support and advise you when you have questions and difficulties at school or work is a great way to overcome challenges. Keep in mind that you are not alone, there are other people out there who have been through what you are experiencing and survived to tell the tales. So here we have gathered several platforms that make it easier for you to find a compatible mentor. It's easy, so I encourage you to take the step today because the right mentor can be a huge game changer!
MentorNet
MentorNet is a platform that aims to provide all STEM students in the US with access to effective mentoring in a vibrant community committed to student success. The platform can strategically match STEM students and professionals into compatible mentoring relationships.
Any STEM student attending accredited U.S. universities, from freshman year through Ph.D. can become a mentee, and any professional with an associate's degree in the STEM field can become a mentor. Mentors and mentees typically spend 15 to 20 minutes per week communicating.
The mentor-mentee relationship lasts 4 months by default, and after 4 months, the mentee can request to renew the relationship or request a new mentor. MentorNet is proud that the platform's mentees are 2x more likely to graduate from college and enter a STEM career.
Women in STEM Mentoring Program
The Women in STEM Mentoring Program is an independent program developed by Anna-Katrina Shedletsky, a former product design engineer at Apple. She was concerned about the number of women engineers at Apple and started this program to learn about STEM students' experiences in the workforce and help them find internships, stand out in interviews, and get lots of great job offers.
Initially, the programs were sponsored by Apple with mentors and in partnership with the Society of Women Engineers at Stanford University. After three successful years, Anna left Apple and began running the program independently.
Now, the program partners have expanded from Stanford to UC Berkeley and San Jose State University, and the mentor team has also expanded from Apple employees to more diverse professionals in the STEM field.
Million Women Mentors (MWM)
Founded in 2014, Million Women Mentors helps companies and corporations across the country connect with local mentoring organizations serving girls to provide in-person and online mentoring opportunities for their employees.
Million Women Mentors aims to engage 3 million mentors in the STEM field to increase the interest and confidence of girls and women to persist and succeed in STEM courses and careers by 2020.
By joining MWM, individuals, organizations and companies commit to mentoring a girl or woman in STEM for 20 hours per year for one to four years. To date, MWM has reached more than 2 million mentors and completed more than 1 million mentorships.
How to prove your excellence in the field (and why you should):
Historically, the vast majority of STEM awards have been given to men and this needs to change. We deserve fair recognition and honor for the achievements and contributions we make. We realize that the first step to improving this is to spread information about the opportunities that exist, so we've brought together a wide range of awards here designed to celebrate the achievements of women in STEM.
IEEE WIE Awards Program
The IEEE WIE Awards Program was developed to recognize IEEE WIE members and Affinity Groups who have made outstanding contributions to the community through their commitment and involvement in projects and activities directed toward meeting the goals and objectives of IEEE WIE.
There are four awards each year: IEEE Women in Engineering Inspiring Member of the Year Award; IEEE Women in Engineering Award, Inspiring Member of the Year; IEEE Women in Engineering Affinity Group of the Year Award; and Affinity Group of the Year Award for Women in Engineering.
Society of Women Engineers Awards
SWE creates a variety of awards to recognize the achievements of female engineers from different fields, different age groups and different cultural backgrounds.
There are nearly 20 types of individual awards designed to honor the successes of SWE members and individuals who advance the engineering profession through contributions to industry, education and the community. Some examples of awards are Achievement Award, Global Leadership Award, Prisma Award, Work/Life Integration Award, etc.
SWE also offers Mission and Multicultural Awards, SWENext Awards for Young Innovators, and WE Local Awards.
INCREASE Project
The RAISE Project brings together awards from all areas of STEM and medicine. It is designed to raise the status of professional women through greater recognition of women's achievements in STEM&M.
The site lists more than 2,400 awards categorized by discipline, career level, and gender eligibility. It also analyzes the distribution of awards and winners by gender and keeps the data constantly updated.
WEPAN Awards
The Women in Engineering ProActive Network offers a series of awards each year to honor prominent individuals, programs and companies for achievements aligned with WEPAN's mission and goals.
These awards include the Founders Award; Defenders and Allies Award; Leader in Engineering Education Award; Bevlee A. Watford Inclusive Excellence Award; Inclusive Culture and Equity Award (can be academic or corporate); Women in Engineering Initiative Award; Industry Pioneer Award; Strategic Partner Award; and Betty Vetter Research Award.
Did we miss something?
Here it is. Our main selection of resources is for girls and women who are passionate about engineering. And now I would love to hear from you.
Are there any resources or advice you love but didn't see on this list? Or maybe you have a question. Anyway, let me know by commenting below now.
If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with other female engineers and girls interested in STEM as it might help them too!
