Today is National Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

Today is a very special day here in the US, especially for those of us here at SolidWorks—Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. If you’re not familiar, this is a day intended to spotlight engineering as a real career opportunity for girls and women, sponsored by the National Engineering Week Foundation.

As an engineer and parent of two girls myself, I know first-hand how important it is to introduce children to math and science concepts at an early age. And like many of you who also have children, I’m constantly amazed at how quickly and easily they learn new concepts. But according to the American Society for Engineering Education, only 18% of the undergraduate degrees in engineering awarded in 2009 went to women. As a country, I know we can do better.

In honor of this day, SolidWorks has put together a special news release that focuses on four very special women in the SolidWorks community. Three of them—Ann Wettersten, Anna Wood and Christine Longwell—are customers. The fourth is our own Director of World Education Markets, Marie Planchard, who is herself the mother of a budding engineer.

Please take a moment to read their stories, and take what they say to heart. Hopefully you will all be inspired to introduce a girl or young woman to engineering and open her eyes to the possibilities that await.