Karen Panetta - Count Girls In: Empowering Girls to Combine Any Interests with STEM to Open Up a World of Opportunity

Copyright 2018 by Karen Panetta, PhD, and Katianne Williams

All rights reserved

First edition

Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

ISBN 978-1-61373-939-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Panetta, Karen, author. | Williams, Katianne.

Title: Count girls in : empowering girls to combine any interests with STEM to open up a world of opportunity / Karen Panetta and Katianne Williams.

Description: First edition. | Chicago, Illinois : Chicago Review Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2017052811 (print) | LCCN 2018006454 (ebook) | ISBN 9781613739402 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781613739419 (epub) | ISBN 9781613739426 (kindle) | ISBN 9781613739396 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: GirlsEducationUnited States. | Women in scienceUnited States | ScienceVocational guidance. | ScienceStudy and teachingUnited States. | TechnologyStudy and teachingUnited States. | EngineeringStudy and teachingUnited States. | MathematicsStudy and teachingUnited States. | BISAC: FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Parenting / General. | FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Education.

Classification: LCC LC1752 (ebook) | LCC LC1752 .P36 2018 (print) | DDC 507.1/073dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017052811

Cover design: Mumtaz Mustafa

Cover image: Flashpop/Stone/Getty Images

Interior design: Sarah Olson

Printed in the United States of America

5 4 3 2 1

To my unwavering sources of sustainable, renewable energy, and loves of my life, my husband, Jamie Allan Heller, and my son, Benjamin Jayden Heller

Karen

To Brian, Lucas, and Lily

Katianne

A s a professor at Tufts University back in 2000, Karen noticed that her female students were struggling with an identity crisis of sorts. They were limiting themselves. Instead of being comfortable and confident in who they were as female engineers, they were trying to blend into a predominantly male culture. Karen formed the nonprofit Nerd Girls Foundation to encourage college women in STEM to celebrate their authentic selves.

As a journalist, Katianne has spent years having conversations with women working in all areas of STEM. These smart, capable women have found success by using STEM to help them pursue their passions. STEM has become the tool that allows these women to work on issues that are extremely important to them personally. An electrical engineer joins the ground crew that sent a solar airplane around the world; a clinical molecular geneticist works with an interdisciplinary team to develop organs-on-chips that will advance the ways in which we study diseases; and a computer scientist warns individuals that our social media imprints tell others way more than we think they do. It is impossible to hear their stories, as well as the enthusiasm in their voices, and not be inspired.

We are both parents. Karen has a son, and Katianne has a son and a daughter. When we set out to collaborate on a book, we knew we wanted to reach other parents. Parents hold the key to raising children who celebrate individuality, appreciate peers for their perspectives and differences, have the confidence to pursue their own interests, and believe that all children, regardless of gender identity, can work and play together in all activities. In addition, a parents attitude toward STEM and toward diversity in STEM fields informs a childs beliefs, and positive experiences at home will counter exposure to negative stereotypes outside the home.

While todays kids have greater access to STEM activities than ever, there is still an opportunity gap. Those children who live in affluent school districts or attend private schools, who can afford to attend expensive courses and summer camps, who are at the top of their class, and who have parents who are already engaged in STEM have access to opportunities that other children may not. Sometimes, hearing about these activities that may not be available to ones own kids can make parents feel that the STEM door is already closed to their children. We hope that this book shows parents that this is not true. We believe that all parents can take steps at home to keep that door wide open, and that building a positive STEM attitude is the number-one way to achieve this.

Finally, we didnt write this book to tell parents how to maximize test scores or get their children into elite universities. We want to help parents raise authentic young women who have the confidence to put STEM to work in a way that best serves them and their passions. We believe in educating the whole child. We can all work together to raise children who appreciate science, believe in themselves, applaud the contributions of others, reach for the stars, and maybe change the world in the process.