In an effort to increase the number of females who work in the engineering field, local construction and manufacturing company JCB — in conjunction with Georgia Tech — hosted the Science of Style camp for middle school girls from June 1-5.
Women hold fewer than 25 percent of science, technology, engineering and math jobs in this country, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration.
There is an even greater difference at JCB, said Tonya Poole, human resources director with JCB. Only one of the company’s 40 engineers is female.
Carolyn Perry, program director for the Center for Education Integrating Science Mathematics and Computing at Georgia Tech, said Poole called her one day with an idea for a camp. After brainstorming, the two came up with Science of Style.
Perry said targeting middle school girls is important because that is the age when girls are making decisions, without even knowing it, about their feelings toward different subjects. These decisions will affect the career decisions the girls make for the rest of their lives.
The STEM Academy agreed to host the camp, and Principal Peter Ulrich said he was excited when Poole and Perry approached him with the idea of a camp specifically for girls.
“Our first year we (the STEM Academy) were like 49/51 as far as the percentage of girls and boys, but this year it slipped and it was like 57/43 boys to girls,” he said. “We really wanted to get these young ladies in and see about the advantages of solving problems and working collaboratively and really going in-depth into those experiences.”
JCB donated $10,000 to sponsor the girls, so the camp only cost $25 per girl to attend.
Poole said it is important to those at JCB to do their part to increase the number of girls in STEM careers because, currently, STEM companies — science, technology, engineering and math — are missing representation, insight and perspective from half the population.
“We did not want a girl to not be able to come to this kind of opportunity,” Perry said. “So we had a targeted outreach to specific parts of town where you might not have a mom thinking about this.”
Forty girls attended the camp, and the money from JCB paid for materials and the salaries of those working at the camps. The residual funds will be used to host Saturday classes at the STEM Academy.
“We want it to be great for kids, and that’s really what it’s all about,” Perry said. “This particular week it’s all about the girls. We do have a problem. We have a deficit.”
Perry said most girls at this age want to go into careers that help people. Knowing this, it is important to show girls there is a way to care for people through engineering as well.
As a result, girls were involved in projects all week to show them there is more to engineering than making widgets. Some of these projects included making jewelry from washers, marbles and circuit boards as well as making LED wearables and lip gloss.
The campers making LED wearables said being able to get their hands on a circuit and work with it is more fun than learning how a circuit works from a book or a kit in class because they get to make their own decisions.
“Our idea is stick together,” Perry said. “Here we build little cohorts — they’ll come back and do Saturday stuff and they’ll be friends, and they’ll be friends who do engineering and computer science and they do the things that the boys do.”
Perry said she hopes to have the camp again next year and continue to make an impact on girls in Chatham County. She hopes to help girls realize that science and math are not only accessible, but they are also fun and offer opportunities to help people.