girls into engineering:girls into engineering
TRANSCRIPT
GETTING GIRLS INTO ENGINEERING:A PRACTICAL GUIDE
www.thelep.org.uk
Contents
Introduction
• The problem
• The LEP
• The UKRC
Approach
• Workshops and training
• In practice – environment and materials
• The role of the ambassadors
LEP/UKRC Guidelines
• Introduction to the guidelines
• Gender Inclusion & Cultural Diversity Guidelines
Introduction
The ProblemAlthough on average girls outperform boys in all subject areas atkey stages of assessment, proportionally fewer girls than boysprogress to do SET (science, engineering and technology) subjectsat A level and in higher education.
Currently, girls make up under half (42.4%) of A level students inSTEM (science technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects,women make up approximately a third (33.5%) of all highereducation students in SET disciplines and only 14% of engineeringundergraduates. Of those women who acquire any SET discipline atdegree level, only 27% pursue a SET career compared to 54% ofmale SET graduates.
The UK and the wider world are facing a shortage of engineers andscientists; the very people needed to preserve and improve ourplanet and our well-being.
According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), thenumber of UK students graduating in SET subjects needs toincrease by 97,000 by 2014 in order to keep up with demand.
However, even though the number of young people opting to takedegrees has increased by an encouraging 60%, the number of UKengineering students has not changed in the last ten years.
To increase the number of home-grown engineers and scientists weneed to look for potential students among populations nothistorically known for providing them; groups such as women andnon-white UK populations.
By drawing on a diverse talent pool, the UK engineering industrycould build a workforce with a diverse knowledge andunderstanding of global markets and position itself as a strong and successful player in the increasingly global marketplace.
The LEPThe London Engineering Project is a project led by the RoyalAcademy of Engineering to encourage girls, students with no familyhistory of higher education, adult learners and black and ethnicminority (BME) students into higher education after school, and inparticular to consider engineering as a career.
It is a partnership of national science outreach organisations, highereducation institutions (HEIs) and industrial sponsors that aims toincrease cultural and gender diversity in engineering education,starting at the beginning of the education ladder and continuing tothe top.
The Project has been supported by Government and industry andhas worked in 40 primary schools and secondary schools in southand east London, in 3 HEIs and also with Thames Water, EDFEnergy, Transport for London and Tube Lines.
A team of dynamic and ethnically diverse female and malefieldworkers deliver a complex set of activities in schools,including STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics)project days and after-school science clubs, residential coursesfor secondary students, engineering summer schools and scienceand engineering competitions.
All the activities have by necessity had to be gender inclusive,and to ensure this was the case the UK Resource Centre forWomen in SET was co-opted onto the Project.
More information is available at: www.thelep.org.uk
The UKRCThe UK Resource Centre for Women in SET (UKRC) works tosignificantly improve the participation and position of women inscience, engineering and technology occupations in industry,research, academia, education and public service.
It is the UK’s leading provider of information and advice toemployers and organisations in the SET sectors, supportingwomen entering, returning and progressing in these fields tobenefit the future productivity of the UK and the lifetimeearnings and career aspirations of women employees.
The UKRC works with a wide range of organisations to deliverservices and develop new initiatives enabling cultural andorganisational change.
As a partner in the London Engineering Project, the UKRCprovided a focus on the development of effective practices tosuccessfully engage girls from under-represented groups inengineering. The approach addressed both gender inclusion andengaging other under-represented groups to ensure thatdiversity remained at the core. It involved a UKRC field workerwithin the LEP project team who worked closely with all projectpartners to build commitment and confidence in identifying howeffective gender equality practice could be included in their workand to support them in the implementation of this practice.
Pivotal to the development of the LEP’s work practices was theUKRC Gender Inclusion Training at the beginning of the project.This training raised awareness and understanding of the issuessurrounding girls and engineering among the LEP team andthus laid the foundations of the project from the very start.
More information is available at: www.ukrc4setwomen.org
The AimThe aim of this guide is to share the effective practice the UKRChas developed in the area of gender inclusion with the LEP.
Throughout the project, the LEP focused on working withstudents form BME backgrounds, students who did not have afamily history of participation in higher education and girls, witha specific focus on Pakistani/Bangladeshi girls as the most under-represented in UK engineering.
Focusing on girls can cause concerns, particularly as to whetherthis approach puts boys off. The UKRC has found that in practiceit does not. What has become apparent is that while good practiceprovides improvements for all students, poor practicedisproportionately affects those students who are already the most disenfranchised.
For example, a school assembly presentation to promote a design-and-make solar car challenge delivered by a young woman whoshares her enthusiasm for motor sports will result in both girlsand boys queuing to take part. An uninspiring talk providing thesame information will still result in boys signing up, but notnecessarily girls.
Much of what follows is straightforward and could even beconsidered obvious or simplistic, but addressing details such aswhether the number of boys in a visual (e.g. PowerPoint)presentation is the same as the number of girls does matter, andpaying attention to these details works in helping to engage girls.
To illustrate this, it is worth mentioning that most LEP activitieshave a minimum of 50% participation by girls. BME studentsaccount for approximately 80% of participants, reflecting theintake of the schools involved.
While the focus of the UKRC has been to ensure participation of girls in LEP activities and thereby encourage more girls toconsider a career in engineering, the principles developed andutilised could equally be applied to any under-represented groupin any sector. For example, having young men staff a childcarestall at a careers day is equally encouraging to male students as is seeing an engineering stall staffed by young women to femalestudents.
It is important to point out that all the partners in the LEP tookpart in the UKRC Gender Inclusion Training which promotes a thorough understanding of the issues surrounding girls andwomen in STEM and the effective actions which can be taken to address these issues. Tailored training was also given to thosewho worked with the Project including the student ambassadors,HEI marketing departments and the teachers who facilitatedafter-school clubs.
These guidelines include the Gender Inclusion and CulturalDiversity Guidelines developed by the LEP team for theireveryday use and other publicity materials as examples of designsconceived before and after the UKRC Gender Inclusion Training,including a leaflet for parents and a flyer for an event calledEngineering Islam which was particularly useful in engagingPakistani and Bangladeshi girls.
We hope you find this useful.
The Approach
Workshops and trainingThe UKRC has provided tailored gender equality training to all those involved in the project: the student ambassadors, themarketing departments allied to the partner organisations, HEIengineering departments, the LEP fieldworkers and theteachers running the after-school science and engineering clubs.Training other senior staff within LEP partner organisationswas also important to ensure high level support andunderstanding of the gender issues which would be important to the success of the project.
The aim of training was to:
l Raise awareness of factors influencing access toeducation, training and careers in STEM for girls and women
l Identify ways of inspiring girls and women in STEM areas
l Identify support mechanisms required to ensuresuccess for girls and women in STEM
l Share good practice in STEM education
l Identify gender inclusion tools to be developed for use by LEP partners
UKRC training sessions are interactive and tailored to theneeds of the participants. For example, marketing departmentsreceived training about the promotion of activities to girls, whileteachers’ sessions focused on effective teaching practices. A sample handout from these training sessions is included.
Before the day begins, the trainers have already done theirhomework about the organisation that they are engaging with.They begin the session by ascertaining the participants’ goalsand identifying their perceived barriers to the participation ofwomen in engineering. Throughout the session, the UKRCtrainers give examples of tried and tested methods of targetinggirls without excluding boys and look for examples of effectivepractice already within the organisation. Depending upon thegroup’s needs, they may also discuss the organisation’s websiteand marketing resources and ways of improving them withrespect to gender inclusion, or look at practical approaches to engaging girls in engineering activities.
The training allows the participants to explore the issues aroundwhy girls may not go into engineering; reasons such as peerpressure, poor career advice, stereotypical preconceptions andcollege environment. They are encouraged to devise ways ofeffectively combating these barriers along with the UKRCtrainers, which gives them ownership of the approach and theirnew ways of thinking and working.
Participants are encouraged to take the lessons learnt away with them and re-evaluate their gender inclusion practices. This might mean reviewing all marketing, teaching and supportmaterials and perhaps playing a more pro-active role in theproduction of new ones.
The sessions received positive feedback:
“I attended the session hoping to find a way of re-launching ourafter school club and get back in touch with the LEP team. In the event, it was quite the best and most inspiring INSETday in my teaching experience. The session connected so manystrands of our work here that we now have an engineeringprogramme outlined through each year of the college.”
Mike Wilcock, Bacon’s Technology College, Southwark
“The training made me understand why it is important forgirls to be encouraged and what I could do. I now look ateverything in a completely different way.”
David Lakin, LEP fieldworker
In practice
Learning environmentIt is very important that the girls have the same learningenvironment, support and encouragement as the boys. To thatend, it is always ensured at LEP events and activities that girlsare not fewer in number. The most straightforward way toensure this is to ask the teachers to send equal numbers of boysand girls.
The practicalities can be addresses as necessary.
For example: one teacher said,
“But I allocate my twenty residential places on a first-come-first-served basis.”
We suggested the teacher have 10 first-come-first-served placesfor boys and 10 first-come-first-served places for girls.
Activities need to be appealing to both girls and boys. If achosen activity is more likely to be more attractive to the boysthan the girls, it can be adapted.
For example:
A bridge building exercise may be more appealing to the boysthan the girls; unless the bridge in question is Waterloo Bridge.The original Waterloo Bridge was demolished in the 1920s, anda new span, which was reportedly built largely by women, wasbuilt between 1942 and 1945.
Activities that are put into a societal, environmental or ethicalcontext will instantly engage girls more than ones which are not,without disengaging the boys.
For example:
In an electronics activity, rather than simply askingparticipants to introduce a light bulb into a circuit, ask them tothink about how they how they might incorporate into a deafpersons home, a means of alerting them to the fact that theirdoorbell is ringing.
In a robotics workshop which runs at LSBU, students areencouraged to consider the ethical issues surrounding the use ofrobots in the home and relate this to the ‘intelligence’ level of therobot in question.
Consider the use of images in all teaching and learningresources.
For example:
Are there the same number of girls and boys/men and womenin teaching guides, presentations and posters?
Consider the use of language in all teaching and learningresources.
For example:
Have you used the term ‘boys and girls’ throughout adocument? If so, change it so that ‘girls and boys’ is used alsoand equally.
When addressing a mixed group, avoid using the term ‘guys’.
Whenever possible, to challenge the idea that engineers aremale, refer to them as ‘she’.
Ensure that girls participate equally in all aspects of an activity.
For example:
Ensure that they have a go at hands-on activities, are chosen as leaders, are given equal turns at using equipment and areallowed to contribute orally to the same degree as boys duringdiscussion sessions.
Try to use female role models.
For example:
Tanya Budd, winner of the Young Engineer for Britain Awardin 2005, is a good role model to use. She used to go sailing withher father and realised that if he fell overboard and wasknocked unconscious she did not have the strength to haul himback into the boat. She therefore devised the ‘Hypo Hoist’, asimple overboard recovery device which is now in production.
By consciously citing Tanya as an example of an engineer, asopposed to Isambard Kingdom Brunel for instance, we areproviding a role model that the students can more easily relateto and who is more relevant to girls.
Resources and materialsThe guidelines applying to images and language have beendiscussed already, and these apply to all resources andmaterials.
In addition, attention must be paid to design issues such ascolour. Gender-neutral colours such as orange, green and purple will alienate neither girls nor boys. On the other hand, a publication that is predominantly pink is seen to be aimedspecifically at girls, and one that is blue or grey at boys.
l The parents’ leaflet
Recognising the huge influence that parents and carers have on young people, the parents’ leaflet is designed to encourageparents and carers to support their daughters if they show an interest in engineering. As parents hold the samemisconceptions as students regarding engineering as aprofession, it is important to dispel the myths and promote theoften very rewarding realities. For those parents who want to be more proactive, included is a section of simple actions topromote and foster an interest in engineering.
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It has been very rewarding to see how well received the leaflethas been. Teachers, careers professionals, students and parentshave all given very positive feedback.
While the leaflet is aimed at the parents and carers of girls,there is a specific remit to be inclusive of parents and carers of Pakistani and Bangladeshi girls as these are the leastrepresented in UK engineering. Therefore, it is borne in mindthat many people reading the leaflet may have English as theirsecond language.
On the front cover are a range of positive images featuringfemale students engaged in hands-on engineering activities. A young woman features as an inspirational figure and aquestion appears which should elicit a positive response fromthe reader.
The most commented upon aspect of the leaflet has been themention of salaries. Both students and parents have beenastonished to see the salary comparisons between engineeringand other jobs, and responses to the leaflet have cited salary asa strong positive influence in choosing engineering as a career.
Quotes within the leaflet challenge the misconceptions allied toan engineering career, illustrate the unrecognised benefits andwere specifically sought from those whose names wouldillustrate they had an ethnic background.
Engineering examples that reflect the environmental and socialapplications were chosen as well as examples which are fun orcontemporary such as roller-coasters and iPODs.
The suggestions web gives a range of ideas that parents canrealistically use to inspire their daughter, whether she is inprimary or secondary education.
Where contact details are given, a female contact is suppliedintentionally.
The amount of further information included is limited so as notto be overwhelming.
Copies of the parents’ leaflet can be downloaded from:www.thelep.org.uk/teachers/encouraginggirlstoparticipate
l Engineering Islam event flyer
Recognising that girls from Pakistani and Bangladeshibackgrounds are the most under-represented in UKengineering, and also to help counteract the negative image ofIslamic communities and provide a positive focus for the young,a female, Muslim LEP fieldworker devised this event with thedistinct aim of attracting the Muslim community.
The front-page image on the event’s advertising flyer is a veryvisually-pleasing example of Islamic engineering, and thecolours in the design were chosen so that girls realised it wasaimed at them.
The LEP fieldworker deliberately put her full name on thefront, with a contact number, to reassure any members of thecommunity that their cultural needs would be met.
The engineering examples selected are culturally appropriateand it includes cultural references to Ramadan and Iftar. It alsomakes clear that a prayer room will be available and thatfamilies are invited.
The flyer successfully conveys that the event has been organisedby a member of the community at which it is aimed.
The back cover is beautiful and culturally appropriate,emphasising the creative side of engineering.
At the event itself, the LEP ensured there were female studentambassadors from BME backgrounds.
Successful outcomes of this event, which ran for 2 consecutiveyears, were:
l A high student attendance rate which increased in thesecond year
l Whole team involvement providing a range of differentinfluences
l The first year had support from the Muslim Council ofBritain
l Second year activities were supported by 1001Inventions, a UK-based, non-political, non-religiousproject from the Foundation for Science, Technologyand Civilization (FSTC)
l STEM Ambassadors (previously known as Science andEngineering Ambassadors/SEAs) attended in thesecond year, providing an even wider group ofinfluential mentors with a broad range of careers andbackgrounds
l Feedback forms stated that the students had a funtime whilst learning about Islamic engineering featsand trying the hands-on activities.
“Engineering Islam was a really diverse and interesting eventbringing together not only Muslims but also people from otherreligious backgrounds to work on challenging activities. It wasvery encouraging to see youngsters successfully working inteams and enjoying themselves.”
Usman Saeed, STEM Ambassador
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Subsequently, the University of Sussex ran their own version ofthis event which was equally successful.
l The Young Engineers posters
This section looks at resources used by Young Engineers, thenational network of after-school engineering clubs, before andafter their LEP/UKRC assessment and training.
We would like to thank Young Engineers for allowing their workto be used in this document.
The ‘before’ poster
This poster had been used nationwide to attract young people totheir after-school clubs.
A preliminary headcount shows this poster to contain thefollowing young people:
l BME females: 4
l BME males: 3
l White females: 4
l White males: 17
There is clearly a predominance of white boys.
Also, the five questions contained within the poster may wellelicit positive responses from students who have already joineda Young Engineers club, but negative responses from studentswithin the LEP’s target groups who haven’t yet taken part inany LEP activities.
Taking the second question as a particular example: Could yousee yourself as an engineer?
Many school-aged students lack an understanding of what anengineer actually does, and any idea they do have is very limitedand stereotypical. Therefore, if asked whether they could seethemselves as an engineer, they could perceive the question aswhether they could see themselves as a large, white mancovered in oil; with the response being an emphatic ‘no’.
The ‘after’ posters
By contrast, the new set of four posters that Young Engineersnow use to promote their clubs contain positive images ofengineering in practice, a variety of interesting applications andimages of young people of different race, gender and age allenjoying its benefits.
There are four themes: the environment, sports, medicine andentertainment, and each poster demonstrates how engineeringimpacts on our lives in one of these areas.
The theme of medicine was specifically chosen to attract theinterest of girls from cultural backgrounds where medicine is ahighly valued career option.
Looking at the environmentally-themed poster in more detail,the image of the disaster was carefully chosen. It is of a recentevent in England so has relevance to UK students and is notperpetrating stereotypes of other countries. The image alsoillustrates the life-saving aspects of engineering, highlightingthe human and social benefits.
Although illustrating something that is traditionally consideredto be of interest to boys, the sports-themed poster depicts apositive image of a girl enjoying football and highlights theengineering surrounding sports.
In all the posters, the images are natural and inspirational andthe strap line ‘Consider the possibilities…’ introduces thecreative aspect of engineering, with other questions employed tofurther illustrate its social and practical uses.
This series of posters has been very positively received, with theEquality and Human Rights Commission requesting sets asexamples of effective practice.
The posters can be found at: www.youngeng.org
The role of the ambassadorsThe student ambassadors have contributed in no small part tothe LEP’s success. The ambassadors provide a pool of young,inspirational, enthusiastic role models who assist at LEPactivities. Taken from the Faculty of Engineering, Science andthe Built Environment at London South Bank University(LSBU), the ambassadors reflect the diverse ethnicbackgrounds of the students in LEP schools and being just afew years older are easy for them to identify with.
For example:
To encourage the Young Engineers clubs to participate in theGreen Power Challenge, electric car racing for schools, the LEPfieldworkers took the clubs to the final race day. To balance thefact that the LEP students would be in a racial minority, thevast majority of attendees being white boys, female BMEambassadors with a good knowledge of mechanics were selectedto help at this particular event and the students were given theopportunity to chat with a winning all-girl team.
LSBU coordinates the selection of ambassadors; a processwhich is stringent on many levels. Ambassadors are required tofulfil criteria relating to personality, gender and racialawareness and dedication to the ideals of the Project.
Successful applicants are given full training in gender and racialequality, and to reflect their training, dedication and intrinsicworth, they receive a good hourly rate of pay.
LEP/UKRC Guidelines
Introduction to the guidelinesThe guidelines which follow were devised as part of the LEPassessment of gender and cultural inclusiveness for their ownactivities and materials.
The students that the LEP works with are from inner-cityschools in south and east London and therefore every effort was made to use references that were appropriate, in terms of culture, age and region.
However, recognising their limitations, the LEP team tookevery opportunity to ask the students themselves for theiropinions and thanks must go to all the students and workexperience students, all from LEP schools, who continuouslygave valuable feedback.
The aim was that by following the guidelines, all fieldworkerswould be able to assess their own activities and materials andensure they fulfilled the LEP’s approach with respect to genderand cultural inclusion.
These guidelines are specific to the work of the LEP, but pleasedo feel welcome to use them as a starting point from which todevise your own.
The UKRC would like to thank the LEP team, in particular the LEP fieldworkers, for their dedication, hard work andwillingness to try new approaches, without which there wouldnot be such a plethora of effective practice examples to share.
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’s h
om
e t
o a
lert
the
m t
ha
t so
me
on
e w
as a
t th
e d
oo
r?’
•
Pro
du
ce
an
ala
rm t
ha
t re
min
ds t
he
m o
f a
sp
ecific
da
te o
r tim
e in
th
e r
elig
iou
s
ca
len
da
r.
•
Inste
ad
of
‘yo
u h
ave
to
bu
ild a
bri
dg
e’, p
rovid
e a
re
aso
n i.e
., y
ou
ne
ed
to
ge
t
L
EP
Ge
nd
er
Inclu
sio
n &
Cu
ltu
ral D
ive
rsity G
uid
elin
es
Ha
ve
yo
u p
rovid
ed
a c
on
text
or
sce
na
rio
?
Do
en
su
re t
he
sce
na
rio
ha
s a
po
sitiv
e m
essa
ge
Is it re
leva
nt
to t
he
stu
de
nts
we
are
aim
ing
at?
aid
to
a v
illa
ge
; th
e r
oa
d h
as b
ee
n w
ash
ed
aw
ay e
tc…
•
Use
exa
mp
les o
f w
he
re t
his
co
uld
be
use
ful in
a r
ece
nt
na
tura
l d
isa
ste
r, lo
ca
lly
an
d/o
r in
tern
atio
na
lly.
•
An
activity b
ase
d o
n t
ram
s in
So
uth
Lon
do
n
Ima
ge
s
Mo
nito
r n
um
be
r o
f fe
ma
le:m
ale
im
ag
es.
Use
im
ag
es o
f g
irls
/wo
me
n.
Use
im
ag
es o
f B
ME
stu
de
nts
/ro
le m
od
els
.
Ima
ge
s o
f g
irls
/BM
E s
tud
en
ts d
oin
g h
an
ds-o
n a
ctivitie
s,
loo
kin
g e
ng
ag
ed
.
Use
im
ag
es o
f fe
ma
le/B
ME
ro
le m
od
els
wh
ich
ove
rtly
de
mo
nstr
ate
th
eir
occu
pa
tio
n.
Avo
id im
ag
es w
he
re m
ale
s a
re a
ctive
an
d f
em
ale
s a
re
pa
ssiv
ely
lo
okin
g o
n.
If u
sin
g im
ag
es o
f stu
de
nts
, e
nsu
re th
e a
ge
s o
f stu
de
nts
refle
ct
the
ta
rge
t a
ud
ien
ce
.
Na
me
s
Mo
nito
r n
um
be
r o
f g
irls
na
me
s:b
oys n
am
es.
Use
na
me
s t
ha
t re
fle
ct
all
cu
ltu
res.
En
su
re fe
ma
le n
am
es a
re e
qu
ally
pu
t firs
t.
•
Do
ris a
nd
Om
ar
Ex
am
ple
s/r
efe
ren
ce
s
Ch
alle
ng
e g
en
de
r ste
reo
typ
es
Use
exa
mp
les w
hic
h r
efle
ct
all
cu
ltu
res.
Ch
alle
ng
e c
ultu
ral ste
reo
typ
es.
Use
glo
ba
l e
xa
mp
les.
Use
fe
ma
le/B
ME
exa
mp
les w
he
re p
ossib
le.
Ca
n t
he
stu
de
nts
re
late
to
th
e a
ctivity?
A c
om
pe
titio
n t
o r
e-
de
sig
n a
n a
irp
ort
lo
un
ge
ma
y n
ot
be
ap
pro
pri
ate
fo
r in
ne
r-city
ch
ildre
n w
ho
ha
ve
no
t h
ad
th
e o
pp
ort
un
ity t
o t
rave
l a
bro
ad
.
•
Kin
g H
en
rys C
astle
ch
an
ge
d to
Qu
ee
n Isa
be
lla’s
Ca
stle
•
Wa
terl
oo
Bri
dg
e (
bu
ilt b
y w
om
en
)
•
Usin
g D
iwa
li a
s a
n e
xa
mp
le o
f a
fe
stiva
l-n
ot
Xm
as
•
Use
th
e N
ew
Orl
ea
ns flo
od
s a
s a
n e
xa
mp
le o
f a
na
tura
l e
xa
mp
le, a
s o
pp
ose
to
fam
ine
in
Afr
ica
•
Pyra
mid
s ,
ch
oco
late
fro
m S
ou
th A
me
rica
•
Fa
mo
us a
rch
ite
ct-
Za
ha
Ha
did
•
Be
cre
ative
-ta
ke
th
em
on
a t
rip
to
a lo
ca
l a
irp
ort
. O
r d
o s
om
eth
ing
els
e.
La
ng
ua
ge
Do
re
fer
to u
nsp
ecifie
d e
ng
ine
ers
etc
as ‘sh
e’- c
ha
llen
ge
ste
reo
typ
es!
En
su
re f
em
ale
pro
-no
un
s a
re e
qu
ally
pu
t firs
t.
Avo
id r
efe
rrin
g t
o g
irls
or
mix
ed
gro
up
s a
s ‘g
uys’.
Avo
id r
efe
rrin
g t
o w
om
en
as ‘g
irls
’.
If a
skin
g q
ue
stio
ns, co
nsid
er
the
lik
ely
an
sw
er
fro
m o
ur
targ
et
gro
up
s.
•
Fe
ma
le a
nd
ma
le e
ng
ine
ers
•
Use
’ M
orn
ing
all!
’, e
ve
ryo
ne
, fo
lks
•
Re
pla
ce
‘d
o y
ou
se
e y
ou
rse
lf a
s a
n E
ng
ine
er?
’, w
hic
h g
irls
are
lik
ely
to
resp
on
d t
o w
ith
‘n
o!’ w
ith
‘d
o y
ou
lik
e d
oin
g h
an
ds-o
n a
ctivitie
s?
’ w
hic
h is
mo
re lik
ely
to
pro
du
ce
a p
ositiv
e r
esp
on
se
De
sig
n
Stu
de
nts
will
un
de
rsta
nd
th
at
a p
ub
lica
tio
n t
ha
t is
pre
do
min
ate
ly p
ink is a
ime
d a
t g
irls
; p
red
om
ina
tely
blu
e/g
rey
is a
ime
d a
t b
oys.
To
avo
id t
his
, u
se
mo
re g
en
de
r-n
eu
tra
l co
lou
rs s
uch
a
ora
ng
e/b
rig
ht g
ree
n/p
urp
le
To
en
su
re g
irls
fe
el w
elc
om
e in
an
activity th
ey m
ay a
lre
ad
y
fee
l is
aim
ed
at
bo
ys,
ove
rtly
use
co
lou
rs t
ha
t a
re g
irl-
ide
ntifie
d
Fo
nt/
ove
rall
ap
pe
ara
nce
-do
es y
ou
r p
ub
lica
tio
n lo
ok f
rie
nd
ly?
•
Go
th
rou
gh
yo
ur
pu
blic
atio
n,
no
te w
ha
t co
lou
rs a
re u
se
d a
nd
co
un
t h
ow
oft
en
.
•
If y
ou
fin
d a
pre
do
min
an
ce
of
ma
le-i
de
ntifie
d c
olo
urs
th
at yo
u c
an
no
t ch
an
ge
,
i.e
. co
mp
an
y lo
go
, sky, se
a,
pro
vid
e b
ala
nce
by e
nsu
rin
g t
ha
t lo
oks m
ost
invitin
g?
yo
u h
ave
fe
ma
le-i
de
ntifie
d c
olo
urs
wh
ere
yo
u c
an
, i.e
. b
oa
rde
rs,
in-f
ill
•
Co
nsid
er
alte
rna
tive
fo
nts
an
d p
rese
nta
tio
n s
tyle
s.
Te
ac
hin
g m
eth
od
s
En
su
re g
irls
/ B
ME
stu
de
nts
p
art
icip
ate
eq
ua
lly in
all
pa
rts o
f
activity s
uch
as :
•
lea
din
g
gro
up
s
•
ha
nd
s-o
n w
ork
•
turn
s a
t u
sin
g e
qu
ipm
en
t i.e
. g
lue
gu
ns,
dri
lls
Stu
die
s h
ave
sh
ow
n t
ha
t g
irls
are
mo
re c
om
fort
ab
le in
an
sw
eri
ng
qu
estio
ns if
the
y h
ave
ha
d a
n o
pp
ort
un
ity to
refle
ct.
•
In g
rou
p w
ork
ro
tate
th
e r
ole
s s
o e
ve
ryo
ne
ge
ts a
tu
rn t
o b
e e
ng
inee
r/n
ote
take
r e
tc
•
Allo
ca
te r
ole
s to
en
su
re g
irls
/BM
E s
tud
en
ts t
ake
active
pa
rt
•
Ha
ve
gir
l-o
nly
gro
up
s
•
Ask a
co
llea
gu
e to
ob
se
rve
yo
u
•
Ask q
ue
stio
ns a
lte
rna
tive
ly g
irl/b
oy
•
Mo
nito
r h
ow
oft
en
gir
ls/B
ME
stu
de
nts
an
sw
er
qu
estio
ns
•
Giv
e s
tud
en
ts a
min
ute
to
jo
t do
wn
an
sw
ers
be
fore
th
ey a
nsw
er
Fre
eb
ies
Will
it
ap
pe
al e
qu
ally
to
gir
ls a
nd
bo
ys?
•
Ora
ng
e U
SB
wri
st-
ba
nd
© Copyright London Engineering Project 2009
