i can relate. i get easily fired up when "women in STEM" comes up for debate, that it's almost a knee jerk reaction for me to want to stick up for it at all costs!

the good thing is, smart women will hash out a debate, and truly seek out a way to understand the other point of view. If there's one thing I've learned from a being a chick in STEM surrounded by dudes, is that in most cases when women "argue/debate", women actually take the time to see through the argument, and discuss everything intelligently. and in most cases, the result is usually good for both parties :)

and just to be clear, i will happily rep Nerd Girls as an original NG, and "come out" to say that yes, I am Danielle from Nerd Girls and i co-manage the Nerd Girls fan page on facebook. However, I've found that when that information is divulged at the beginning of a discussion, people sometimes discredit what i have to say, so i usually try to keep that on the low until necessary (however, it's often pretty obvious...though, i have to say I'm pretty impressed with your detective skills!).

thanks for the article. i love me a good tech buzz/chat in the am!

that response was less for you, (you made some very well-though-out and accurate points in your article, and many that i agree with), and more for the people who commented that seemed to misunderstand the Nerd Girls intentions.

ha, wow. that's exactly the response i would expect from someone who chose a career path that didn't make them a lot of money, and is now bitter about it. if you go back to school to try and pursue an engineering degree, i can guarantee you'll make more money and be much happier!

true, i respect and agree with your support of the group.

(i think we are agreeing on more than we realize here)

and i agree that the IEEE video rocks. it's actually really great to see the varying responses from the tone of the promos - because it's important that the MPH producers hear that and see how the "real engineers" are viewing it. those are the opinions that matter most! because truthfully it's people like yourself (who support the group and mission of Nerd Girls) who are needed to support these kind of movements, because that's the target audience. at the end of the day, if it's a success in the media world AND in promoting the positive REAL side of engineering (which i believe is the intent of the show), its a win win for all!

i will add, another comment on that article, that i think sums it up:

"Oh give me a break. The opening sentence discredits the entire report, “discouraged from pursuing a STEM career (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) at some point in their lives”

How is “at some point in their lives” is statistically relevant?" --@DeKalb Conservative

in response to that article on STEM:
- you need to do some more serious research on that topic to understand it in all of its complexities. do you know how many professors in engineering are males? i can remember only 1 professor in all of my years of engineering schooling that was female. do you know how many of my professors tried to tell me i wasn't good in math/science OR that i probably wouldn't like engineering? A LOT. so maybe, just maybe, a single study like this can only be fully understood if one understands the big picture of the key elements in it.

i also encourage you to read it again, especially this point:

● The top three causes/contributors to underrepresentation in STEM include lack of quality science and math education programs in poorer school districts (75 percent), persistent stereotypes that say STEM isn’t for girls or minorities (66 percent) and financial issues related to the cost of education (53 percent), according to the survey respondents.

all of this justifies my previous points, the need for groups like Nerd Girls to exist, and the important of creating positive role models in the media/tv and all around us.

i believe that was also an attempt to ask me to validate my existence, and I will happily do that:

i'm a female who's been in the STEM world for quite some time. i have a masters in engineering. i work in aerospace in a primarily male-dominated environment where i make a conscious effort to break stereotypes for my female peers every day. i love heels as much as i love diving into a complex structural repair problem. i love reading the technology section in gizmodo.com & wall street journal as much as "self" and "glamour". i believe that we are entering a very scary time where if we as a society don't do something HUGE to encourage our youth to study math/science, we are going to be in big trouble. i believe that the media has a large but scary influence over our youth, and the lack of female role models in the media that are math/science savvy, is not good (however, the myth busters chick rocks!). I've never been a huge fan of reality TV because it doesn't have enough substance for me...i prefer the travel/history/discovery channels myself...however, if an opportunity for an organization like Nerd Girls or Science Geeks, or Brainy Chicks, is out there with a good technical base and mission, is seeking to "rock our world" and enter the combat zone that is media/reality TV in order to break negative stereotypes, i will definitely be the first to support them.

I am extremely passionate about reaching out to young people and colleges, high schools and middle schools to get them excited about math and science so that we can keep those jobs in the states instead of having to outsource them, thus losing our world-wide competitive edge and respect. If the efforts of a group like the Nerd Girls can do that, i wholeheartedly support that. And if you follow them on twitter and facebook, i think you too will see that they are not just a bunch of "chicks in heels who like makeup". And those are the kind of role models that need to be in the lime light.

would it give me more/less credibility if i was or if i wasn't?

the point is: a lot of people will hate and offer negative opinions, but do you have a better idea? if you think the promo looks "cheap and tarty" how else would you do it, given society, social trends, target audience tastes, the dire need to shed a positive/attention-filled light on females in STEM, and compete with the reality-tv trash that's out there and in a in the media circle?

how else would you present a TV show then?

we're talking about overcoming HUGE negative stereotypes here, and to compete in a media crazed reality tv obsessed society, i think the Nerd Girls have presented themselves in the way that's necessary to compete in the Jersey Shore/Real Housewives of "X" circle. All they need is a chance and attention, and once it catches on and people start watching, they can preach the real deal and take on real projects and show the world that they can hang, and the positive Nerd stereotypes and attract the much needed women to enter STEM fields. i couldn't have done it better myself!

how could you find the talk about salaries offensive?! i think that's awesome that chicks are finally talking about that kind of thing! i mean come on, guys talk about salaries and their career of choice and how much money it's going to make ALL THE TIME! it's about time women are talking about it. for one, we are often times still making less than men, when we have the same jobs! why are some women so afraid to talk money?!!? are people afraid someones feeling might get hurt?! it needs to be discussed. and shoot...what's wrong with choosing a career that will 1). give you a job, guaranteed when you graduate 2). make you some cash? what do you go to school for? to NOT make money? maybe you should re-evaluate why you are offended by the salary talk .... i think its AWESOME!