My Take: Introducing Girls to Engineering

28 March 2014

Jane Alexander, Deputy Editor
My ongoing passion for helping grow the highly skilled, technical workforce that industry needs now and in the future is stronger than ever. Thus, the invitation to spend several hours the evening of Friday, March 7, at the Siemens West Chicago manufacturing plant was something I couldn’t resist. The occasion was the facility’s 2014 “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” event. I jumped on the opportunity to attend—as did 150 girls, grades five through 12, and their parents and/or chaperones. It’s good that we did. Overwhelming intrest in the program, fueled by word-of-mouth, social media and outreach to schools and Girl Scout groups, meant that some hopeful attendees had to be put on a waiting list.

Girls and adults who were able to register had plenty in store for them—including a very up-close and personal look at the West Chicago facility during a production shift. The plant was an ideal venue for showcasing engineering in action. Opened in 1969, it supports Siemens’ Industry Automation Division by manufacturing motor control centers, switchboards, enclosed controls and definite-purpose contactors. Plant Manager Juan Carlos Rivero and his team were gracious, knowledgeable and efficient hosts. After all, this wasn’t the first such event at the site: It was the 10th.

Jayne Beck, Manager of Motor Control Center and Switchboard Order Engineering at Siemens Industry, directed the evening’s activities. She introduced the program at the West Chicago plant in 2005. Only 15 girls attended that year. How times—and girls’ interests and self-confidence levels—seem to have changed!

All eyes were glued on Beck as she welcomed this year’s record turnout. Opening with a discussion of what engineers do and where they do it (i.e., just about everything and everywhere), she pointed to various rewards associated with engineering careers—including, as she put it, “getting paid to play.”

She also cited some disturbing statistics, among them the fact that out of just over 2 million employed engineers today, only 200,000 are women. “Why,” Beck asked the room full of girls, “are we letting the boys have the good jobs?” Turning to look at all the bright, eager faces around me, I could see that she was well on her way to making the “sale.” The next couple of hours closed the deal!

Breaking into small groups, attendees embarked on the factory tour—from engineering design to production, packaging, even shipping operations. Nobody in our group lagged or strayed—I bet it was the same for the others. There was too much to see, hear and interact with, including a demonstration by a team from FIRST (For Inspiration And Recognition Of Science And Technology) of the robot it had built for the FIRST Robotic Competition (FRC) program. (Siemens, by the way, is an active supporter of FIRST and FRC, and helps mentor teams around the country.) Later, the small groups reconvened and competed in their own hands-on “engineering” challenges.

In the end, whether their spaghetti-marshmallow-and-duct-tape towers stood tall, their tin-foil boats stayed afloat, their Snap Circuits glowed or their paper airplanes flew, every girl at the Siemens West Chicago event went home a winner. Each carried with her a clear vision of how she, as an engineer, could change the world.

According to Beck, encouraging girls to choose engineering career paths is important, not just for them and their families, but for others, Siemens included. “Having women in the engineering field,” she explained, “brings a diversity of experience and thinking to our plant. Diversity means that people have different ways of approaching things, and this brings a lot of value to the company.” Well said, Jayne, and well done, Siemens West Chicago. MT&AP