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Why Are Too Few Females in Robotics? Could It Be the Robots? - Page 10 — Parallax Forums

Why Are Too Few Females in Robotics? Could It Be the Robots?

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  • Something good is happening in my local school district. One-third of this year's participants in the FIRST competition were female:

    https://www.facebook.com/roboctopi/photos/a.287501348065139.1073741827.287500974731843/1044668575681742/?type=1&theater

    -Phil
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    Something good is happening in my local school district. One-third of this year's participants in the FIRST competition were female:

    https://www.facebook.com/roboctopi/photos/a.287501348065139.1073741827.287500974731843/1044668575681742/?type=1&theater

    -Phil

    Fantastic news Phil! Great photos on the facebook page.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    That is awesome, Phil!
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2018-05-24 04:24
    Just to keep the record straight, I'm not personally involved with FIRST. It came to my attention via a local newspaper article.

    -Phil
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Katy Byl is a professor of robotics at UCSB.

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Dr. Em sure likes robots, she has a series of robot reviews on Youtube.

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    Thanks, erco - two keepers to RUS.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    HTH. You owe it to your followers to make a "the Ladies of RUS" calendar!
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2018-07-07 15:16
    Women of NASA celebrated! At least four of them...
    9D51748E-C4D2-467F-932D-A14C00A91A36.jpeg
  • That kit is for a movie.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    That kit is for a movie.

    It's for real, and no overlap with the ladies in "Hidden Figures". https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/02/health/women-of-nasa-lego-trnd/index.html
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Why is Margaret Hamilton stacking boxes in that Lego set? That's a great role model isn't it.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    For that matter, why are Mae Carol Jemison and Sally Kristen Ride standing dangerously close to the orbiter's rocket exhausts?
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    And why do they all date back from 1959 to to 1992?

    Curiously this mirrors my experience of finding women as coworkers in the technological workplaces I have worked in since 1980.

    They were there back in the day, in small numbers but encouragingly more than decades before by all accounts.

    Then all of a sudden they were not. By the time I got to Nokia in 2000 and something there were none to be seen anywhere.

    A couple of year back I found myself discussing this with a new generation of young software engineers, all male. They were seriously discussing why is it that so few females turn up for their nerdy meetups? And how could they encourage more?

    What happened?






  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    Heater. wrote: »
    Why is Margaret Hamilton stacking boxes in that Lego set? That's a great role model isn't it.

    Margaret Hamilton and a pile of code...

    308B3738-966F-44B2-B2DB-85E5A2781B26.jpeg
  • Heater. wrote: »
    ...Then all of a sudden they were not. By the time I got to Nokia in 2000 and something there were none to be seen anywhere....What happened?

    coincidence?

    Mike
  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Whit,
    Margaret Hamilton and a pile of code...
    I know Whit. Sorry, that was another of my failed attempts at humor.

    Still that photograph, as seen on wikipedia, bothers me.

    It states that it is the "navigation software that she and her MIT team produced for the Apollo project"

    If you took all the source code of the Apollo Guidance Computers navigation software and printed it out on good old line printer paper like that, it would be a pile about 4 inches high.

    I did the calculation here some place. You can checkout that original AGC source from github now a days, count the lines and check for yourself if you like.

    I'm sure that picture is bogus hype.

    Don't let that imply that I don't hold Margaret Hamilton in high regard. Far from it. I'm sure she did more than stack up old listing paper though.
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2018-07-08 18:32
    @heater - I thought you were kidding, but some of the younger forum members might have never seen this! Everything is in the LEGO recreation but the coat rack!

    I’ll have to defer to you on the other point! Perhaps it reflect all the code written till they got it just right? :-)
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2018-07-09 04:04
    heater wrote:
    Why is Margaret Hamilton stacking boxes in that Lego set? That's a great role model isn't it.
    I did not know that the Wicked Witch of the West worked for NASA:

    450px-Margaret_Hamilton_1966.jpg

    'Just kidding, of course! (Different Margaret Hamilton.)

    -Phil

  • Heater.Heater. Posts: 21,230
    Whit,

    I can see the coat rack in the Lego creation. Isn't it that weird brown gallows construction behind her figure?

    The more I look at it the more ridiculous it gets.

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    @heater - you are RIGHT! Ha!
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    I was about to say "they forgot her glasses" but they are very faintly printed on her face.

    lego.png
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  • My personal hero is Admiral Grace Hopper for her Navy career, electronics knowledge, Math skill, and programming expertise.
    All things I wish I had. And she was a tough, take no nonsense person.
    144 x 180 - 7K
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2018-07-09 02:05
    Nice Carol Lynn!
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2018-07-09 02:09
    @"Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)" - NASA did have flying monkeys. :-)

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeys_and_apes_in_space

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2018-07-20 21:22
    Girl Scouts getting in on the fun!

    Take a look at this... from https://www.i-programmer.info/news/150-training-a-education/11011-new-robotics-badges-for-girl-scouts.html


    New Robotics Badges for Girl Scouts
    Written by Sue Gee
    Saturday, 05 August 2017
    What you do as a Girl Scout stays with you for life. So it's great to see that Think Like a Programmer Awards are being introduced for Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies and Juniors, along with badges for robotics.

    GSJunior

    Girl Scouts collaborated with Code.org to develop computational-thinking programs for girls. Hadi Partovi, its co-founder and CEO, commented:



    “We are thrilled to partner with Girl Scouts to introduce more girls to computational thinking. In the 21st century, these critical-thinking and problem-solving skills are essential for all girls as they become tomorrow’s leaders and innovators.”

    Explaining the choice of robotics, Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of the Girl Scouts explains:

    "We've seen girls being users of technology but not necessarily programmers, and robotics is a great way to learn how to code. It lets girls have a fun experience with friends while learning a skill."

    GSBrownie

    Research indicates that girls “opt out” of STEM as early as second or third grade, so the first set of badges, which range in scope and skill level, from the Daisy-level What Robots Do to the Junior-level Programming Robots are focused on elementary school girls. However, to ensure that girls have opportunities to continue learning, experimenting, and coding, Girl Scouts and Code.org are currently developing middle and high school computational-thinking and robotics programs. Girl Scouts also plans to unveil 18 badges focused on cybersecurity, between now and 2019.

    Avecedo, who as CEO of the Girl Scouts is the person who makes decisions about what's on offer, is herself an engineer who has worked. Her experience of building a rocket while in Girl Scouts inspired her to pursue a career in tech and now she hopes to inspire girls to choose STEM careers. Referring to the planned expansion into cybersecurity she says:

    "[These girls] want to be hackers. They want to protect against cybersecurity and cyberterrorism ... If you think about it, that's solving a problem in their community — and that's the core of what we do at Girl Scouts."

    The press release announcing the new STEM Badges states:

    Through hands-on and age-appropriate experiences for girls as young as five, Girl Scouts is addressing the lack of exposure many girls have to STEM. In fact, Girl Scouts are almost twice as likely as non–Girl Scouts to participate in STEM (60 percent versus 35 percent).

    It also points to a new report from the Girl Scout Research Institute that shows that participating in Girl Scouts helps girls develop key leadership skills they need to be successful in life. Compared to their peers, Girl Scouts are more likely than non–Girl Scouts to be leaders because they:

    Have confidence in themselves and their abilities (80% vs. 68%)
    Act ethically and responsibly, and show concern for others (75% vs. 59%)
    Seek challenges and learn from setbacks (62% vs. 42%)
    Develop and maintain healthy relationships (60% vs. 43%)
    Identify and solve problems in their communities (57% vs. 28%)
    Take an active role in decision making (80% vs. 51%)
    What girls gain through Girl Scouting positively affects all areas of their lives. For example, Girl Scouts do better than their non–Girl Scout peers in the classroom, earning better grades and aspiring to higher educational attainment, and are more likely to seek careers in STEM, law, and business—industries in which women are underrepresented.

    Learning computational thinking has similar benefits so the match between Girl Scouting and coding seems one to be welcomed.

    GSDaisyRobotsq

    More Information
    Girl Scouts and Code.org: Preparing Girls to Smash Glass Ceilings in STEM!
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    671 x 309 - 225K
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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    Most excellent! Since Girl Scouts, moreso than non Girl Scouts...

    Act ethically and responsibly, and show concern for others (75% vs. 59%)

    We can count on their support to make robots 3-Laws Safe!
  • This has been very interesting post

    Thanks
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