Like A Girl

My Grandpa Avery and Grandma Fritzi were unusual people. They were visionaries in a time when most people were only looking towards the next day. In the 30's and 40's they raised three amazing daughters, creating opportunities for these young women that were unheard of at the time. My mom, was the youngest of the three was brought up on the south side of Chicago. In the 50's she was competing across the country in swimming against girls from all over. In the time before Title IX, my grandparents ensured that their daughter would have every opportunity to do the same things that boys could do. They sent her to medical school and she became one of the first women obstetrician's in our county. As we grew up she shared stories with us of cruel, hostile, and egotistical barriers that were put before her and how she fought her way around them. My mom surrounded us with smart and intelligent women. Scientists, doctors, engineers, and moms to "vaccinate" us against believing that people could have limitations based on their gender, ethnicity, race, or religion.

In the community I work in we are proud to share many opportunities focused on building girls excitement to enter new professions. Through Argonne National Laboratory we have experiences for young women to become encouraged to enter science. We have clubs that have formed to help young women enter adolescence successfully. When these activities are distributed, we frequently receive feedback about why do we offer these activities to only girls. It's unfortunate, but so easily we forget that there is a real problem for our society in how we create a life for our daughters in comparison to our sons. The differences are so subtle and so society embedded that we miss them. These differences are so important that as parents and educators it is our duty to actively change them. A great example of this comes from the creator of Goldiblox:

Goldiblox Kickstarter Video

Recently Yahoo!, Facebook, and Google released their employee diversity data. The results are devastating. It is clear that technology companies have become the new boys clubs. This has an impact on the tools available in our world and how we interact with our world. We need to remove barriers for our daughters, our nieces, our students, and our athletes. If we do not act, in the longterm we will hurt our entire society. Thankfully, some activities are beginning to pop up. In the world of technology and engineering, Goldiblox- engineering toys made for girls, Appcamp4girls aimed to create the next generation of programmers and developers, and Google's Made With Code initiative to invest $50 million in programs to encourage girls to enter programing. 

These activities are a start, but the real change needs to be in every household, every classroom, and every school. We need to remove ceilings each and every day. In the 90's I had the opportunity to teach Chemistry and coach swimming for middle school and high school boys and girls. My students have grown, found careers, and now are raising families on their own. Frequently I look over at Facebook and I become so proud of the people they have become. When I think back, I remember Carley and Sam willingly wanting to jump in as middle schoolers and swim exhibition against the high school guys. I remember feisty Emily who you always wanted in the relay because she was not afraid of anything. Anne Marie, Katy, Jessica, and Bridget who worked hard to learn the most difficult concepts, help others, and yet were collaboratively competitive in everything they did. Lyndsay, Megan and Lisa who fought through injuries and were at practices during both boys' and girls' seasons at 5:30am and doing their homework until 10 or 11 at night. These young women and so many more have grown to become chemists, engineers, actuarial scientists, marine biologists, teachers, and parents. When we remove ceilings and create possibilities our children achieve. This is why Always' new campaign to change how we treat young girls is so important. So that this next generation, that of my nieces, my students, and my students' children have open opportunities to grow into who they want to be and change our world for the better.

Always' Like a Girl