The statistics are worrisome, according to Pittsburgh's
Girls, Math & Science Partnership (GMSP): Girls comprise fewer than 15 percent of all Advanced Placement computer science test takers in secondary schools, the lowest percentage of any AP discipline. And between 1983 and 2006, the share of computer science bachelor's degrees awarded to women dropped from 36 to 21 percent.
But the organization took yet another step last weekend toward changing that. GMSP, a nonprofit originally launched by Family Communications at CMU and now housed at the
Carnegie Science Center, hosted a two-day event called DigiGirlz Camp. The goal? To battle gender stereotypes about careers in the high-tech industry and inspire girls to consider pursuing these careers.
This immersive experience gave more than three dozen girls from southwestern Pa. and eastern Ohio the chance to work with successful female executives from Microsoft. The girls (from grades 8, 9 and 10) collaborated with the experts and also worked in small groups with other students using robotics technology.
The overnight event had a packed schedule: "On Friday, they broke into teams and had some instruction on Microsoft-based robotic software, then they had chance to explore the Roboworld exhibit," says Emily Sturman, assistant director of GMSP. "Then some mentorship time with Microsoft employees, then an Imax show, dinner, more project time, and they wrapped up the evening on Friday with a laser show or they could do a rooftop observatory viewing, then an ice cream social."
Saturday held more teamwork, with the girls programming robots to execute dance steps to music they had chosen. It was "a great opportunity to work in teams and really take ownership for their own part of their project," Sturman says. "There was competition and collaborative effort."
Later that afternoon, the teams competed in a robot dance-off. There were tech glitches, but even that turned out to be a useful teaching moment – the girls discovered that scientific projects don't always turn out perfectly on the first try.
It's hard to quantify the impact on each girl who participated, but Sturman says the girls learned and accomplished, and definitely had fun. "Lights out was supposed to be around 11 p.m." she says, but most of the girls were too excited to sleep until much later.
Writer: Melissa Rayworth
Source: Emily Sturman, GMSP
Image courtesy of GMSP