In order to reach a more diverse culture in VEX Competitions, we’ve launched this initiative to start a conversation. Specifically, we are working towards increasing female participation. The Girl Powered grants are open for anyone wanting to start a team that is at least 50% women. Those can be found at RoboticsEducation.org. Girl Powered Workshops are open to all students. It’s important to note that these are separate from VEX Competitions. These workshops do not qualify students for VEX Worlds. In terms of judged awards, the REC Foundation provides guidance and rubrics to the judges, all of who are hard working volunteers, prior to or on the day of events. Nowhere in those rubrics does it mention gender. If you receive an award, it is for your accomplishments, not due to anything else.
Girl Powered FAQ
We’re shining the spotlight on the successes of girls in STEM as a way to increase awareness for our program. We want girls to feel like they have a place in VEX just as much as boys. Many of the women on our core leadership team were on robotics teams as students and know what it feels like to be singled out because of their gender. If you are reading this and happen to be part of the 24% of girls currently in our community, we are glad you are here and have already broken through the barriers we are working to address. We hope you will support new team members through Girl Powered. We ask that you do it for the girls out there who haven’t yet realized they have a place in robotics. We want everyone to feel like they have the confidence needed to go out and excel in STEM.
By supporting this initiative, promoting it to other teams and taking the Girl Powered pledge. More information about the pledge can be found here.
There is no shortage of boys in robotics. Everything that we’re doing through Girl Powered is so that one day, our community will better reflect our society, at which point there won’t be a need for this initiative. We hope both girls and boys will support this cause.
It means supporting your teammates to try new things and reach outside of their comfort zones. Being Girl Powered means finding girls who you don’t see in robotics, getting them try it, and showing them that they belong. It’s about encouraging teammates, both girls, and boys, to actively embrace a more diverse culture. We want to encourage not only girls, but all newbies, to try new things, and be a part of changing the definition of what a STEM expert looks like.
