Do you think women are fully supported to pursue an engineer career?

As much as institutions try their darnedest to promote more women in engineering fields, there are deeper problems that keeps them out.

One, women are not often exposed to engineering as a career option. I was raised in a Christian environment and feel that I was conditioned to focus on being a wife and mother. Yes, I could explore my interests, but I don't remember a point in my years leading up to being an adult, being guided towards a career path that wasn't art or education. I'm so frustrated that I didn't even know that Mechanical Engineering was a thing until my late 20s. I would have made a damn good mechanical engineer, and yes, I could still go back, it's never too late, blah blah blah, but my current life path and desire to maintain my lack of student debt keep me from bothering. I'm not saying this is every woman's experience. I can only speak of my own. I also didn't see women DOING those things. I didn't have role models to show me that someone like me COULD do that. Engineers were always men. Now, thankfully, there has been a big push in recent years to have more books and movies and tv shows about women being a lot more than mothers and wives. I cried during the No Man's Land scene of Wonder Woman because I didn't realize how much I had been missing out by not having a hero (that looked like me, a woman) to look up to. People need to see that someone like them can do the thing, to make it easier to believe that they too, can do the thing. Representation matters. This is getting better, but there is still a staggeringly low percentage of women in the STEM fields.

Two, sexism and gatekeeping are still a huge problem. There are studies and data to back up that women significantly more often than men have to prove themselves and show their credentials. They can't just be instantly believed to be an expert or even just knowledgable in their field. This happens in schools, at jobs, in social interactions, even just going to the store.  And no, this isn't ALL the time, or every interaction. But it happens often enough that a lot of women get exhausted from the constant battle of having to prove themselves that they just give up and find a path of less resistance, often changing fields. The reason most women engineers are so badass is because they had to be to get to where they are. They were tough enough to wade through all of the doubt and constant questioning that is thrown at them. If you're rolling your eyes because you don't believe me, or even want to actually hear more about it, there are threads all over Twitter and Reddit with women talking about it. Here's one. You can also look at other industries to see the same problems, because trust me, they exist in every field, in subtle different ways. The gaming industry has some of the worst and some of the most recent notable stories. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look into GamerGate. It can get really ugly, and sometimes even dangerous for women. And it doesn't always have to be blatant or obvious. Microaggressions add up and often, eventually, women get sick of it and just leave or quit. And when it's systemic, that means the entire industry or field.

Here's an example of what I mean, For two years, I did social media for the Ben Heck Show. It was my job to read the comments on YouTube. Comments on a show, that my face was on, that had a 99% male viewership made up of people that tuned in to watch about video game and electronics hacking. Every week I had to read sexist comments about myself. Some comments were just gross. Others were dismissive. Some people to this day, still assume I was on the show because they think I was Ben's girlfriend or wife (spoiler alert: never was), and not because I had the credentials to earn my place on the show. Thankfully I have a thick skin, but there were times where it got to me. (Oh, how I relished the day I was granted access to the proverbial "ban-hammer".) Granted, this happened over the internet, where people are often at their worst. But it's the same sentiment and women still deal with these kinds of things on a regular basis. It might just look a little different. Maybe someone talks over her during a meeting. Or her ideas aren't accepted until a man presents the same idea. Or she's in class and some Broseph tells her to "make me a sandwich" or "go back to the kitchen".

Maybe she makes a statement about something in her area of expertise and is told she's wrong, or worse is "corrected", by a man who has little knowledge in the area. All of these interactions wear on a person. It's degrading and exhausting.

So yes, people TRY to support women in engineering. And it is getting better. With time, hopefully we will see the numbers of women engineers grow. But it's still a tough place for a woman to be, let alone excel.

And if you're interested in helping fix the problem? The number one thing I can say to you is help keep other men in check. Do it when there is only other men around. Do it in front of women. If you hear a man make a comment, or say something that is sexist or just isn't quite right, or that you've never heard asked of a man, speak up about it. Bring it to their attention, and if applicable, tell them it's not ok. They say those thinks because they think it is acceptable or at least that they can get away with it. Help show them that it is not acceptable, that they can't get away with it. And be loud about it. Whispers and gentle comments aren't going to fix this problem.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

As much as institutions try their darnedest to promote more women in engineering fields, there are deeper problems that keeps them out.

One, women are not often exposed to engineering as a career option. I was raised in a Christian environment and feel that I was conditioned to focus on being a wife and mother. Yes, I could explore my interests, but I don't remember a point in my years leading up to being an adult, being guided towards a career path that wasn't art or education. I'm so frustrated that I didn't even know that Mechanical Engineering was a thing until my late 20s. I would have made a damn good mechanical engineer, and yes, I could still go back, it's never too late, blah blah blah, but my current life path and desire to maintain my lack of student debt keep me from bothering. I'm not saying this is every woman's experience. I can only speak of my own. I also didn't see women DOING those things. I didn't have role models to show me that someone like me COULD do that. Engineers were always men. Now, thankfully, there has been a big push in recent years to have more books and movies and tv shows about women being a lot more than mothers and wives. I cried during the No Man's Land scene of Wonder Woman because I didn't realize how much I had been missing out by not having a hero (that looked like me, a woman) to look up to. People need to see that someone like them can do the thing, to make it easier to believe that they too, can do the thing. Representation matters. This is getting better, but there is still a staggeringly low percentage of women in the STEM fields.

Two, sexism and gatekeeping are still a huge problem. There are studies and data to back up that women significantly more often than men have to prove themselves and show their credentials. They can't just be instantly believed to be an expert or even just knowledgable in their field. This happens in schools, at jobs, in social interactions, even just going to the store.  And no, this isn't ALL the time, or every interaction. But it happens often enough that a lot of women get exhausted from the constant battle of having to prove themselves that they just give up and find a path of less resistance, often changing fields. The reason most women engineers are so badass is because they had to be to get to where they are. They were tough enough to wade through all of the doubt and constant questioning that is thrown at them. If you're rolling your eyes because you don't believe me, or even want to actually hear more about it, there are threads all over Twitter and Reddit with women talking about it. Here's one. You can also look at other industries to see the same problems, because trust me, they exist in every field, in subtle different ways. The gaming industry has some of the worst and some of the most recent notable stories. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look into GamerGate. It can get really ugly, and sometimes even dangerous for women. And it doesn't always have to be blatant or obvious. Microaggressions add up and often, eventually, women get sick of it and just leave or quit. And when it's systemic, that means the entire industry or field.

Here's an example of what I mean, For two years, I did social media for the Ben Heck Show. It was my job to read the comments on YouTube. Comments on a show, that my face was on, that had a 99% male viewership made up of people that tuned in to watch about video game and electronics hacking. Every week I had to read sexist comments about myself. Some comments were just gross. Others were dismissive. Some people to this day, still assume I was on the show because they think I was Ben's girlfriend or wife (spoiler alert: never was), and not because I had the credentials to earn my place on the show. Thankfully I have a thick skin, but there were times where it got to me. (Oh, how I relished the day I was granted access to the proverbial "ban-hammer".) Granted, this happened over the internet, where people are often at their worst. But it's the same sentiment and women still deal with these kinds of things on a regular basis. It might just look a little different. Maybe someone talks over her during a meeting. Or her ideas aren't accepted until a man presents the same idea. Or she's in class and some Broseph tells her to "make me a sandwich" or "go back to the kitchen".

Maybe she makes a statement about something in her area of expertise and is told she's wrong, or worse is "corrected", by a man who has little knowledge in the area. All of these interactions wear on a person. It's degrading and exhausting.

So yes, people TRY to support women in engineering. And it is getting better. With time, hopefully we will see the numbers of women engineers grow. But it's still a tough place for a woman to be, let alone excel.

And if you're interested in helping fix the problem? The number one thing I can say to you is help keep other men in check. Do it when there is only other men around. Do it in front of women. If you hear a man make a comment, or say something that is sexist or just isn't quite right, or that you've never heard asked of a man, speak up about it. Bring it to their attention, and if applicable, tell them it's not ok. They say those thinks because they think it is acceptable or at least that they can get away with it. Help show them that it is not acceptable, that they can't get away with it. And be loud about it. Whispers and gentle comments aren't going to fix this problem.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.