Women As Problem Solvers

This post originally appeared on my Google Plus page in January 2013, and was re-blogged by The International Reporting Project

Educator and speaker, Angela Maiers shares two words she believes are essential to young women considering a career in STEM: “You matter.”

The essence behind what Angela has to say is backed by some research. In June 2008, a report was released by the National Academy of Engineering, called “Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering,” on the best way to convince young people to go into engineering. The message? Tell them that they will make a difference. The four most effective statements they tested were:

–Engineers make a world of difference.
–Engineers are creative problem-solvers.
–Engineers help shape the future.
–Engineering is essential to our health, happiness, and safety.

If you work as a scientist, engineer or a physician, you are working to solve problems, change the world, and improve people’s lives. This is the message I will be highlighting as I travel to India in a few weeks with the International Reporting Project to examine issues of child survival. I will be speaking with doctors, engineers and scientists who are contributing to improving the health and living conditions of the most impoverished children in the world. These people matter to the lives of those children. And if you have the aptitude and inclination to become a scientist or engineer or physician, you can make a difference just about anywhere you are or care to travel. #IRPNewMedia  #scienceeveryday