[OPLINLIST] STEM for Girls

[SWON Info]

Amazon recently changed the way they organize their toy section. You can 
no longer filter toys by gender 
<http://gizmodo.com/amazon-didnt-really-eliminate-gender-taxonomy-for-toys-1702707355>. 
But they still have separate landing pages for boys' and girls' toys, 
with some of the same sub-categories: for boys, "Pretend Play" features 
the outfit of a fire fighter; for girls, princess outfits. Ouch.

Gender stereotypes like these run deep. Whether your attention is turned 
to toys or STEM education (and STEM jobs), it's going to take more than 
removing a label to knock those stereotypes down.

One way to address this opens some programs only to people in an 
underserved demographic. "Girl Develop It" 
<http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Cincinnati/> teaches technology 
and web development classes to women. Their HTML/CSS and coding classes 
aren't specialized for this audience. But they do create an environment 
where women can be part of the STEM community in whatever way they choose.

There's a difference between "There's room for you at this table" and 
"We've reserved this table just for you." With so much STEM programming 
available (and Melanie just blogged about a long list of ready-to-go 
programs 
<http://swonlibraries.org/news/232483/STEM-Programming-at-Your-Library-No-Excuses.htm>), 
try giving a program a second time for a more specific audience. Let's 
take extra steps to support diversity so no one's left saying, "It's 
almost as if I could only enter the makerspace as a janitor." 
<http://blog.melchua.com/2015/04/28/on-the-diversity-readiness-of-stem-environments-its-almost-as-if-i-could-only-enter-the-makerspace-as-a-janitor/>

  * Nathan Swartzendruber, SWON Technology Educator

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    Your STEM second in command

Ready to put on a STEM program at your library and want a second set of 
hands? Invite Nathan out to help. Whether you're planning a program that 
uses SWON's Tech to Lend <http://swonlibraries.org/?page=tech_to_lend> 
equipment or something entirely different, Nathan is glad to join your 
team. Contact him at nathan at swonlibraries.org 
<mailto:nathan at swonlibraries.org> with requests.

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    Coming up on the calendar
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_list.asp>

  * *Memorial Day - SWON Libraries Office Closed*
    May 25, 2015
  * *SWON Libraries Spring 2015 Membership Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=599239&group=>*
    May 26, 2015 - MidPointe Library System, West Chester Branch
  * *Jamie LaRue on Administrative Conversations
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=608469&group=>*
    May 26, 2015 - Online
  * *Geek Out @ Your Library
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=608480&group=>*
    May 28, 2015 - Online
  * *Outreach (Special Interest Group) Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=575841&group=>*
    May 29, 2015 - Location TBA
  * *Using YouTube to Enhance Your Marketing
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=612244&group=>*
    June 2, 2015 - Online
  * *Public Library Adult Program Planners (Special Interest Group)
    Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=574714&group=>*
    June 3, 2015 - Boone County Public Library, Main Branch
  * *Winning Library Grants
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=612265&group=>*
    June 4, 2015 - Online
  * *SWON Executive Board Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=459392&group=>*
    June 5, 2015 - SWON Meeting Room
  * *Ethnic Librarians & Staff (Special Interest Group) Meeting
    <http://swonlibraries.org/events/event_details.asp?id=575784&group=>*
    June 5, 2015 - UC Blue Ash Library

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