Robogals is an organization that tries to recruit females into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) industry by letting them complete complex projects in robotics during secondary school across Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. There was a workshop in Toronto last week that saw the girls break down the stereotypical image of what an engineer looks like.
Vice President of Robogals Newcastle (Australia), May Hane, said, “If you ask someone to picture an engineer, many people will picture a big dude in a hard hat and overalls.” The Newcastle University hosted the workshop that was held in the Toronto Library for girls aged 10 to 14.
Hane said, “The team believes that every girl deserves an opportunity to explore and strengthen their science, mathematics, and robotics side, whether they are at school or not.” She pointed this out due to – for the first time – the attendees were all either home schooled or long distance educated girls.
Watch the girls in action:
“We start the workshops with a five-minute presentation explaining what engineering is, how we do it, and what it involves. We tell the girls that in Australia, less than 8 percent of engineers in Australia are women. But the message is that anyone can do it and that girls just have a different approach,” said Hane.