This is...extremely annoying

[Pink Fairy]

http://www.cce.csus.edu/conferences/eyh/eyh09/

 

Why is it necessary to have a "girls only" event for something like this? Picture the outcry if it was offered only for boys. I want to encourage my two girls AND my three boys to excel in science and math, and the decision to exclude boys just chaps my behind. :angry:

[PineFarmMom]

I don't like that kind of thing either. The attempts to "empower" in that way always seem to say, instead, that if the boys were involved then the girls couldn't cut the mustard, which wouldn't be true. So why not just make it inclusive?

[Jen500]

I don't see anything wrong with this. I notice quite a few hs'ing moms saying they aren't 'mathy'.

[Tammy]

they are trying to encourage women into a field of mostly men, LOL! It is an 'empowerment' move!

[5kidsforME]

they are trying to encourage women into a field of mostly men, LOL! It is an 'empowerment' move!

 

 

Exactly.

[Pink Fairy]

I don't see anything wrong with this. I notice quite a few hs'ing moms saying they aren't 'mathy'.

 

So homeschooling moms aren't mathy, and homeschooling dads are? How embarrassing--my dh isn't mathy. Should he be excluded from the Very Special Homeschooling Empowered Leaders Who Aren't Mathy Conference offered at the local state college?

 

they are trying to encourage women into a field of mostly men, LOL! It is an 'empowerment' move!

 

I don't think it's a good idea to empower people simply based on gender. Many students struggle in the maths and sciences, and most would benefit from an opportunity to participate in this type of conference. Why only let the girls?

[HRAAB]

So homeschooling moms aren't mathy, and homeschooling dads are? How embarrassing--my dh isn't mathy. Should he be excluded from the Very Special Homeschooling Empowered Leaders Who Aren't Mathy Conference offered at the local state college?

 

 

:lol:

 

And I agree with you.

 

Janet

[Jennifer in NH]

Very "mathy" mom here... I get annoyed if I cannot sign up both my daughter and my sons for stuff.

[nutmeg]

It doesn't really bother me, but as the mother of 2 daughters, my first thought at seeing the title and tag:

 

Expanding Your Horizons: Motivating Young Women in Science + Mathematics

 

...is that they are already motivated in the areas of science & math. I'd love to expand their horizons to the field of art or languages. :D Is there a conference for that?

Edited September 22, 2009 by nutmeg

[Jennifer in NH]

It doesn't really bother me, but as the mother of 2 daughters, my first thought at seeing the title and tag:

 

Expanding Your Horizons: Motivating Young Women in Science + Mathematics

 

...is that they are already motivated in the areas of science & math. I'd love to expand their horizons to the field of art or languages. :D Is there are conference for that?

 

 

That is how mine is too! :001_smile:

[ereks mom]

Research shows that girls & boys learn differently -- male & female brains are not wired the same way. Teach a whole classroom full of kids and you'll see that almost immediately! ;) Anyway, I would welcome the opportunity to sign my dd up for something that would pique her interest in math & science!

Edited September 22, 2009 by ereks mom

[Jen500]

So homeschooling moms aren't mathy, and homeschooling dads are? How embarrassing--my dh isn't mathy. Should he be excluded from the Very Special Homeschooling Empowered Leaders Who Aren't Mathy Conference offered at the local state college?

 

I can't tell if you're being snarky towards me, or the conference organizers.

I wasn't trying to say that ALL hs moms aren't mathy, and I didn't say anything about hs dads. I think that if girls have more encouragement and positive experiences w/math and science, they are more likely to grow up and enjoy these subjects. So I think the conference sounds like a good thing. And I have only boys.

I apologize to all you moms (and dads) who enjoy math and science, I didn't mean to offend anyone. :)

[Pink Fairy]

Research shows that girls & boys learn differently -- male & female brains are not wired the same way. Teach a whole classroom full of kids and you'll see that almost immediately! ;) Anyway, I would welcome the opportunity to sign my dd up for something that would pique her interest in math & science!

 

I'm not denying that at all. But differences in learning styles are not limited to gender.

 

What I don't like is the stereotyping of both girls and boys. Seriously--what teacher or parent is giving girls the message that girls just aren't as good as boys in math and science? Who is it that is keeping girls down, or is it that they really CAN'T handle math and science, and need a special girls only event?

 

And are boys so naturally good that they DON'T need opportunities to participate in science and math activities outside of their classrooms?

 

The hypocrisy bothers me too. I'm not seeing any academic events directed at boys only, because we all know how that would be interpreted.

[Pink Fairy]

I can't tell if you're being snarky towards me, or the conference organizers.

I wasn't trying to say that ALL hs moms aren't mathy, and I didn't say anything about hs dads. I think that if girls have more encouragement and positive experiences w/math and science, they are more likely to grow up and enjoy these subjects. So I think the conference sounds like a good thing. And I have only boys.

I apologize to all you moms (and dads) who enjoy math and science, I didn't mean to offend anyone. :)

 

No snark at you intended, and no offense taken here. :001_smile:

 

But I would say your statement applies equally to boys, that if they have more encouragement and positive experiences with math and science, they are more likely to grow up and enjoy these subjects.

[ChristusG]

I guess our familiy fits the stereotype then....I hate math with a passion and couldn't do upper algebra to save my life. DH is an accountant and awesome with numbers. As I've told him before, "Numbers just do weird things when they go into my head." He's taking over the math when the kids get older. I got the artistic, creative, good at language arts and writing gene. :D

[angela in ohio]

http://www.cce.csus.edu/conferences/eyh/eyh09/

 

Why is it necessary to have a "girls only" event for something like this? Picture the outcry if it was offered only for boys. I want to encourage my two girls AND my three boys to excel in science and math, and the decision to exclude boys just chaps my behind. :angry:

 

I think it's a band-aid. No one wants to talk about the real causes or real solutions. So let's have a pep rally day and try to convince girls that math really "is cool and fun!" :glare:

[elegantlion]

My ds would enjoy a day like that, he wouldn't mind joining in with the girls. :D I would hope in that region there are plenty of opportunities like that for both boys and girls, then I wouldn't find issue with it. If that were an area of the country with limited opportunities then I think excluding boys is a bad idea.

[Danestress]

In the FAQ it says that boys can attend and that spaces are given on a first come, first serve basis. So if you think your boys are interested, you can sign them up.

[jplain]

I attended Expanding Your Horizons conferences when I was that age.

They were fantastic. I'm glad they're now open to boys too.

 

Having gone through grad school in a scientific field that traditionally attracts a lot of women, I can tell you there's still a huge gender gap. I do think that gap is worth remedying, because women and men bring different strengths to research.

Edited September 23, 2009 by jplain

[Pink Fairy]

In the FAQ it says that boys can attend and that spaces are given on a first come, first serve basis. So if you think your boys are interested, you can sign them up.

 

Doh! :blush: That's a little embarrassing...

 

You're right. I wouldn't say that boys are exactly encouraged, but by reading the small print in the FAQ I can see that they are at least allowed.

 

Is this conference just for girls or can boys attend too?

The focus of the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conference is to stimulate girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); foster girls’ awareness of opportunities in math and science-related careers; and connect girls with professional women role models. Although the EYH Conference targets middle school girls, 6th-8th grade boys may also attend. Registration will be available to all on a first come, first served basis.

 

My boys aren't middle school aged, it's just the principle that boys aren't welcome that irritated me. Now that I know boys aren't being absolutely denied the opportunity, I may bring my girls next year when they'll both be middle schoolers.

 

Thanks for pointing this out, and I guess I'll take my outrage and go home now. :lol:

[joannqn]

Very "mathy" mom here... I get annoyed if I cannot sign up both my daughter and my sons for stuff.

 

:iagree:

 

I try to include both of my older kids in anything educational. My son is kind of bummed because my daughter just started a computer class that he can't do because of age. So, I have to find a way for the rest of us to kill two hours while she's at class. Having a 7yo, 2yo, and newborn waiting makes choosing how to wait more interesting. I'd choose differently if I had just the younger two.

 

My ds would enjoy a day like that, he wouldn't mind joining in with the girls. :D I would hope in that region there are plenty of opportunities like that for both boys and girls, then I wouldn't find issue with it. If that were an area of the country with limited opportunities then I think excluding boys is a bad idea.

 

My son would LOVE it. My daughter wouldn't have any interest in it. She hates math despite being a year ahead and doing well with it.

 

I think taking a boy to a conference designed for and full of mostly girls could be awkward. I probably wouldn't take just my son knowing it was geared towards girls.

[Carol in Cal.]

I used to feel that same way.

 

But, they are not talking about giving girls chances that they have not earned, or jobs, or anything like that. They are talking about exposing girls AND boys to ways of thinking and to serious female math and science role models that they wouldn't commonly run across or even hear about in everyday life.

 

I know this because I have taught parents' workshops at the local version of this same event. Schools send in busloads of kids, and parents bring their children from as far away as 50 miles so that they can experience this. The teachers are engineers, programmers, math professors, physicists, chemists. They all volunteer their time. The AAUW facilitates the day and the logistics and gets the boxed lunches distributed. They are volunteers as well.

 

When I studied chemical engineering in the late seventies, there were very few other women in that field, and none at all among the professors. I don't know how I had the nerve to do it. It never really occurred to me not to because I was female, but I know other women who were very intimidated by that fact and by the atmosphere. I think that it's good for both girls and boys to be exposed to female role models, especially non-standard ones like me, who are in the sciences, engineering, or math.

[MommyRyan]

I think it's a band-aid. No one wants to talk about the real causes or real solutions. So let's have a pep rally day and try to convince girls that math really "is cool and fun!" :glare:

 

:iagree: Yup.

[silvermine]

I wouldn't like it if it was boys only, asians only, or anything else only. I don't really believe in categorizing people.

 

If, as someone else was saying, it's math for people who have X, Y, or Z personality quirk, why not offer it as an inclusive class that will mainly deal with X, Y or Z personality quirk?

 

And yes, I'm a mathy, sciency mom. I dunno.. it seems to me either you like it or not, and if girls tend to not like it, why try to entice them there? Does anyone freak out if there aren't an equal number of male flower arrangers or nannys? :P

[LibraryLover]

That seems like a very neat gathering.

 

Btw, in the registration info it says boys are welcomed to attend as well.

[LibraryLover]

In the FAQ it says that boys can attend and that spaces are given on a first come, first serve basis. So if you think your boys are interested, you can sign them up.

 

 

You beat me to it! lol

 

However, if my dds were to attend school, I have a particular girls' school I'd like them to attend.

 

It's in my will.

 

lol (but true).

[Pink Fairy]

I used to feel that same way.

 

But, they are not talking about giving girls chances that they have not earned, or jobs, or anything like that. They are talking about exposing girls AND boys to ways of thinking and to serious female math and science role models that they wouldn't commonly run across or even hear about in everyday life.

 

I know this because I have taught parents' workshops at the local version of this same event. Schools send in busloads of kids, and parents bring their children from as far away as 50 miles so that they can experience this. The teachers are engineers, programmers, math professors, physicists, chemists. They all volunteer their time. The AAUW facilitates the day and the logistics and gets the boxed lunches distributed. They are volunteers as well.

 

When I studied chemical engineering in the late seventies, there were very few other women in that field, and none at all among the professors. I don't know how I had the nerve to do it. It never really occurred to me not to because I was female, but I know other women who were very intimidated by that fact and by the atmosphere. I think that it's good for both girls and boys to be exposed to female role models, especially non-standard ones like me, who are in the sciences, engineering, or math.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience--very interesting! I would have to disagree with part of what you say.

 

"They are talking about exposing girls AND boys to ways of thinking and to serious female math and science role models that they wouldn't commonly run across or even hear about in everyday life."

 

 

They aren't wanting to expose boys to this way of thinking. They are targeting girls only, with a rather ungracious acceptance of boys attending (I use the word ungracious because they certainly aren't advertising that boys are welcome).

 

 

It's not that women will be the primary leaders of the activities that is a problem. I personally would prefer it not to be emphasized, because it introduces my children to the idea that it's unique, unusual--I want my girls to look at this as another option for them to focus their studies on, not to feel like it's so hard, so difficult, women have really had to struggle to get here. I don't know if I'm making sense, here, in my rambling.

[Impish]

Here's the reality.

 

In our society, girls weren't encouraged to be smart. Heck, there was once a Barbie that exclaimed, "Math is hard!" More emphasis has always been put on looks over brains in society when it comes to women. Quick, think of a famous female scientist! Aside from Marie Curie, I can't come up with one off the top of my head.

 

I'm talking generalities of course, but that's what groups like this started out from. Heck, I remember being discouraged from advanced math in high school. I was grilled by a guidance counselor, "Are you sure you can handle this?" I finally asked if boys were questioned about their math choices, and he let it drop. To be honest, it may have had something to do with my living on my own too, so call it a double prejudice. :lol:

 

Emily Stowe had to go to the US for her medical licensing, because no school in Canada would admit her. She opened practice in 1861 after returning to Canada, but was denied an Ontario medical licence, and still refused entry into Canadian med school. It wasn't until 1880 that she was finally granted admission. 129 years ago isn't that long ago...but was before women were granted the vote. (1919 in all elections, except for Quebec that refused to allow it until 1940.)

 

Its a result of too many years of dissuasion that there are 'girl' targeted science and math stuff. Indeed, I believe that some colleges and universities have grants and scholarships here based solely on being a woman in science/math study.

[LibraryLover]

I know a lot of chemists, and very few of them are women. There are some, but very few, of any age. In fact, I think there are more older women than there are younger women in chemistry. I don't know the statistics, but this is my anecdotal experience. A dear female friend of ours is 18, and a college chemistry major. It does my heart good.

[Jen500]

I know this is just one university, but in my grad school math classes I was the ONLY American female.

[OH_Homeschooler]

I've actually been involved in research into this sort of thing. At the university level and "out there" in the field, men far outnumber women in math and science professions. Tracking back they find that girls start opting out of math and science classes in high school, and start underperforming in these areas in middle school, even though they performed just as well as boys (or outperformed them) in elementary school. So conferences like this are a chance to remind girls that they can pursue these types of careers at a critical point in their development.

 

So it is a good, and I believe necessary, thing.

[AndyJoy]

I may be opening a can of worms here, but here's my take on this.

 

Some people who believe that there are no differences between women and men will never be satisfied or believe that we have achieved their definition of "equality" until the number of men and women in "male dominated" professions is equal. They interpret the fact that there are far fewer women in math/science professions to mean that girls are discouraged from pursuing these careers, feel intimidated, and are generally oppressed. While I'm sure this is true in some cases, I think there are additional factors at play. (And I know plenty of boys who have been overtly discouraged from academic achievement!) I don't think it is a coincidence that women in general lean towards more nurturing professions than men.

 

I worked in the mechanical engineering department of a university for 2 years. I swear that at least once a week emails were sent urging us to recruit more women. Our enrollment was about 10% women, which is pretty close to the national average. However, the top 10% of M.E. students was 5% women, 5% men! This said to me that the girls who were most passionate about engineering were doing what they wanted, and the others were more passionate about something else! An interesting thing that I noticed is that engineering tends to be a "default" major for boys with no passion. It sounds cool, like fun, etc. to the C student who has no idea what he wants to do in life. He's always been into cars, motorcycles, etc. so engineering sounds like an OK idea. The "default" major for a girl tends to be something more social, like teaching, social work, or even business because she likes people, likes helping others, and thinks these careers sound OK. I think this is due more to biological differences in men and women than culture or upbringing.

 

I took AP Calculus and AP Chemistry in 2000 at a public school in rural Idaho. How more stereotypical can you get for the setting for oppressive views towards girls and math? However, I NEVER encountered this. My calculus class had 18 students: 9 boys, 9 girls. I had the top grade in teh class and never felt intimidated or was discouraged by others. In fact, several of my male classmates were annoyed that I wasn't going to be an engineer because I would be "wasting my mind" by choosing accounting!

 

I think that the unintended consequence of "empowering" women is that many math/science-loving women feel "empowered" to NOT have a career in math & science but homeschool their kids instead!:D I have been verbally attacked by both men and women for having this position. Evidentally I'm dealing a terrible blow to the women's movement by not sharing my math ability with the world.

 

While I'm generally annoyed at groups that are obsessed with "empowering" girls to choose careers in math and science, I recognize that they just have a different view of women and men than I do. At least they are doing something constructive for girls, rather than just whining about the disparity!

[Carol in Cal.]

 

They aren't wanting to expose boys to this way of thinking. They are targeting girls only, with a rather ungracious acceptance of boys attending (I use the word ungracious because they certainly aren't advertising that boys are welcome).

 

I don't think that the program that I helped with was as ungracious sounding toward boys. They did advertise that boys were welcome, and there were boys that attended. The purpose was the exposure to girls, though...I see the need for that, even though I personally did not need it...and yet I do struggle with this expression of it.

 

It's not that women will be the primary leaders of the activities that is a problem. I personally would prefer it not to be emphasized, because it introduces my children to the idea that it's unique, unusual--I want my girls to look at this as another option for them to focus their studies on, not to feel like it's so hard, so difficult, women have really had to struggle to get here. I don't know if I'm making sense, here, in my rambling.

 

I agree, I would rather it wasn't emphasized, but I don't know how to accomplish the role model exposure without that emphasis. Where do we find these women role models, if we don't look for them specifically? The stats are not on the side of 'build it and they will come.' OTOH, I would rather it were more matter of fact, as you suggest, not making it seem so hard. I never thought it was that hard because I was a woman myself, but I know that I'm very fortunate to have had that attitude.

 

I had this old-fashioned view of history on my side--I believed that America was dedicated to equality and that at certain points we kind of woke up to the fact that we were not applying that belief in equality as broadly as we needed to, and then we changed. I believed that we did that in the Civil War, and the Women's Sufferage Movement, and in the Civil Rights Movement, which I thought emcompassed women as well, and that now everyone believed that discrimination was shameful and wrong and so they wouldn't do it. I resisted joining women's groups until my senior year in college specifically because I thought that that struggle was over and it was time to move on.

 

During my senior year in college I realized that there was still a lot of sexism/discrimination against women in the workplace, and I also faced down some clear discrimination at school, and at that point I reluctantly accepted the fact that more needs to be done to clear this out. Ever since then I have struggled with how to balance the beneficial assumption that all is well (which really served me well for quite a long time) with the need to actively encourage and strengthen young women's educational experiences in some ways. I was a lot happier and more comfortable when I believed that the war was already won and finished, and that belief really helped me to go for it. But it's just not true, and many girls come up against that realization and give up far too soon.

 

I don't know what the right balance is. I sure am glad that I homeschool, for now.

[Jugglin'5]

The thing about this is that women are outperforming men in both high school and college graduation rates across the board. Why do we need special programs for women? I was looking at admissions for Texas A&M Veterinary College because my son has expressed an interest in being a vet. This is a highly competitive program in a university that still has a very masculine atmosphere. The ratio of students male to female in the vet school? 3 to 10 Yes, 3 men for every 10 women. So, I think women are doing just fine in the science fields that they are actually interested in. I have a family friend who is an undergrad at TAMU as an engineering student - she was highly sought after, because they want women. Where are the special programs to attract men to the English Lit dept.? :lol:

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

The thing about this is that women are outperforming men in both high school and college graduation rates across the board. Why do we need special programs for women? I was looking at admissions for Texas A&M Veterinary College because my son has expressed an interest in being a vet. This is a highly competitive program in a university that still has a very masculine atmosphere. The ratio of students male to female in the vet school? 3 to 10 Yes' date=' 3 men for every 10 women. So, I think women are doing just fine in the science fields that they are actually [i']interested[/i] in. I have a family friend who is an undergrad at TAMU as an engineering student - she was highly sought after, because they want women. Where are the special programs to attract men to the English Lit dept.? :lol:

 

:iagree:

[TravelingChris]

Well being a mom of one boy and two girls, I have to say I want to find a similar program for my daughter in this area. Why- she is a girl who likes to fix things, invent things, figure out how things work, and she is very good in math. She is also very social.

 

I have her in a robotics class this year and she and her friend are partnered as the only two girls in the class. In her Odyssey of the Mind group, she is the only one who really wants to work on the engineering part of the problem (all girl group). In our family, while I am a highly analytical person who is math orientated, it is my physicist husband that she is most like. I want her to find other girls like her rather than girls who giggle.

[OH_Homeschooler]

Where are the special programs to attract men to the English Lit dept.? :lol:

 

You know, English lit departments don't pay their professors nearly as well as Engineering departments. I think this is part of the issue too. Sure, women dominate fields like psychology and education (as undergrads at least, grad programs start to look more half and half--interesting), but we all know that education is not nearly as lucrative as engineering.

[Jugglin'5]

You know, English lit departments don't pay their professors nearly as well as Engineering departments. I think this is part of the issue too. Sure, women dominate fields like psychology and education (as undergrads at least, grad programs start to look more half and half--interesting), but we all know that education is not nearly as lucrative as engineering.

 

yes, but once again, this is interest driven. Colleges actively recruit women for their engineering departments. College students know that it pays more to go into the sciences usually. I just don't think it can really be argued that this is due to discrimination anymore. It is due to personal choice.

[OH_Homeschooler]

yes' date=' but once again, this is interest driven. Colleges actively recruit women for their engineering departments. College students [i']know[/i] that it pays more to go into the sciences usually. I just don't think it can really be argued that this is due to discrimination anymore. It is due to personal choice.

 

Well, college students may know the difference but unless girls are taught at a young age that they can make it in the sciences, through events like the conference referenced in this thread, they don't have the OPTION of getting into engineering at the college level.

[AndyJoy]

Well, college students may know the difference but unless girls are taught at a young age that they can make it in the sciences, through events like the conference referenced in this thread, they don't have the OPTION of getting into engineering at the college level.

 

I guess I wonder why people think modern girls supposedly don't know they can have math and science careers. Is discouraging girls from excelling at math and science actually widespread? My mom (born in 1954) was directly and repeatedly told that "girls can't do higher math." I (born in 1981), however, never questioned that I could do whatever I set my mind to, and maybe even be the best at it! Didn't all those years of stupid self-esteem classes that we groaned through in PS work?:lol:

 

Isn't it possible that most girls don't pursue careers in math and science at the same rate as boys because they just aren't as interested, not because they believe they can't?

 

Based on my experiences working in the Mechanical Engineering Department at a university, I would suggest that events like this be created/advertised/open to girls AND boys. I think both boys and girls need exposure to engineering so they will know what it really is and is not. A lot of academically unprepared freshman guys picked engineering as a default major and really had NO idea what it entailed. I did a lot of referring to the local jr. college for auto repair courses. Only about 33-40% of our incoming freshmen were actually prepared for the non-remedial curriculum, which begins with Calculus I.

Edited September 24, 2009 by AndyJoy

[Mom-ninja.]

I used to be all for the "empowerment" of girls, but now, eh, not in the way it's done.

 

I read "Raising Cain" and "The Wonder of Boys" have come to completely agree with the authors. Many times boys are being left behind while attention is focused on girls.

 

Look at the public schools. They are geared toward how girls learn in general. There is not much done to adapt boys' learning styles. I'm speaking in general of course. This is a big reason I home school.

 

Look at college enrollment. Women outnumber men. Look at test scores. Girls have higher scores. Girls make better grades. Look at the children being labeled as having behavior problems...mostly boys. Look at the number of drop outs. Mostly boys.

 

Of course we should support and encourage girls to excel in all subjects, but we should be doing the same for boys as well. We're not.

Edited September 24, 2009 by Kleine Hexe

[Jugglin'5]

I guess I wonder why people think modern girls supposedly don't know they can have math and science careers. Is discouraging girls from excelling at math and science actually widespread? My mom (born in 1954) was directly and repeatedly told that "girls can't do higher math." I (born in 1981), however, never questioned that I could do whatever I set my mind to, and maybe even be the best at it! Didn't all those years of stupid self-esteem classes that we groaned through in PS work?:lol:

 

 

This was my experience as well. I was born in 1970.

Edited September 24, 2009 by Jugglin'5

[MyThreeSons]

when I was an engineering student down the road at SJSU. We would have hands-on workshops, letting the girls actually build something, sometimes with a contest involved, such as an egg drop.

 

Having the events for girls only worked well for several reasons:

 

The girls weren't worried about what the boys would think of them. No need for them to be cute or feminine or whatever they thought the boys would like. They could dive into the activities, ask questions, etc.

 

Even at that age, it's still true that, in general, the boys would more likely have had more experience with many of the activities and concepts. In a mixed group, it's more likely that the boys would have stepped up and overshadowed the girls in throwing out ideas, actually doing the constructions, etc.

 

The workshops were conducted by members of the SWE (Society of Women Engineers). It was great for the girls to see women in action in technical fields.

 

NOW, we did also have events that were for both boys and girls.

[angela in ohio]

This was my experience as well. I was born in 1970.

 

Yep, I was born in 1974, and our entire schooling was about "breaking the glass ceiling." We were going to run corporations, build skyscrapers, and rule the world while Rosie the Robot took care of our homes and family. :D