Instead of Taking Your Daughters to Work, Introduce them to Technology

It’s well documented that girls need more exposure to tech and science careers--they also need more female role models. Why is it that we can easily name legends such as Gates, Jobs, Dell, and Zuckerberg for their technical contributions? Yet most people cannot name the woman who saved millions of lives by inventing Kevlar (Stephanie Kwolek). Or the Nobel Laureate who invented radioimmunoassay (RIA) testing that revolutionized medical research (Rosalyn S. Yalow). Or the woman who founded the first word processing company, Redactron, in 1969 (Evelyn Berezin). These women deserve to be widely known for their significant contributions. But most importantly, our daughters need female role models. This Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. No doubt, it is a fantastic initiative. However, in 2013 many freelancers and entrepreneurs work from home. And many employees don’t work in offices anymore. For workers who remain in office environments, it seems that exposing our kids to the drudgery of cubicles, mind-numbing meetings, and dull cafeteria food is not very inspiring. So rather than going to work, why don’t you set aside a day and take your daughter to tech?

Here are a few ideas to swap for hauling your kids to your desk:

• Learn about women in tech and science
• Visit a tech or science museum
• Join the Worldwide #WITI Wave celebration
• Read about important women in STEM careers at the 2013 Women’s History Month website
• Sign your kids up for a technology or science summer camp
• Set aside time to help them participate in science events such as Google’s Science Fair.