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Today is International Women's Day in Women's History Month.
One Billion Rising: the organization lists it's "birthday" on 14 February 2013. Inspired by several recent turn of events, two of note: the brutal public gang rape and murder of a New Delhi woman sparked outrage across the globe; Malala Yousafzai, a young Afghan activist shot in the face for promoting education and erasing ignorance was also a catalyst.
As so should have been Hadiya. When honor students are murdered, it should be a time of mourning, and a response of resolve.
As so should be Tonya McDowell. Judging from the verdict, the court in Connecticut forgot the mercies and sympathy poured on to Sandy Hook (the majority killed there were women): apparently, wanting the best for a six-year-old in Orwellian speak is now thoughtcrime. And, the best place for a six-year-old is not at the side of his homeless mother who's doing the best she can under circumstances engineered way above her pay grade: it's obviously in the foster care system, where he will most likely end up on a collision course with the same criminal justice system that just sentenced Tonya to 12 years in prison.
It has been lately, not easy to be a woman. For the "fairer sex," it's been no more easier to be a woman than it is to be a minority, or gay, middle class or a teacher. Quvenzhané Wallis could not enjoy her night at the Oscars: apparently, nine-year-old talented actresses are somewhat threatening to small minds, in possession of Napoleonic smaller male appendages, that hide behind the 1st Amendment and the nebulous non-action statement "they have been disciplined" (not fired).
"In time we hate that which we often fear." William Shakespeare
Organizations, mostly dominated by men, are telling everyone else what they can be, how they can act, what to do with decisions about their own welfare, bodies and careers.
I think of my "little engineer," an endearing term I use not as a slight but a realization: at 8, she's kind of short! Her name is Naomi ("pleasant"). She has a smile that would light up a room on a grey, cloudy day. She and her young female friend/electronics lab partner at a science fair I organized at our church, engineered a simple switch for a flying saucer/helicopter when they ran out of parts (I had 31 kids - pizza = popular). It was amazing; THEY were amazing! They deserve to inherit a world a little less dangerous; a little less bigoted towards their gender.
On Friday March 8, we should make sure that the women in our institutions enjoy a coffee or a lunch. Let them talk and exchange their thoughts, and take pictures to show the world that there are women in science, and sharing their experience on Twitter and Google+ (hashtag #WomenOfScience). They are here, not a majority, but they are an important part of scientific work and discussion.
For all the "little scientists and engineers," and the pleasant world I would like them to inherit...
Official Site: International Women's Day
Office of Science and Technology Policy: Women in STEM
US Department of Commerce: Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation
NSF: Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering
Cosmic Diary: Featuring the Women of Science
STEM connector: 100 Women Leaders in STEM
WAMC: Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
STEMinist: Voices of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
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