Pull Don't Push: Why STEM Messaging to Girls Isn't Working and What to Do Instead

You need to hear the bad news first: the results of STEM outreach to girls haven’t improved in twenty years. The good news? This book will tell you why, and how to fix it. Currently, dated narratives push girls away in fear, and blind spots result in missed opportunities to pull them in. While efforts to increase diversity in science and mathematics have succeeded, outreach has largely ignored engineering—where there is still only one woman for every five men. This is especially troubling because engineering offers vastly more jobs than other STEM fields. Plus, girls are telling us they’re eager for the kind of work engineering offers—yet we fail to help them connect the dots.

As a woman enjoying a career in STEM, author Julie Newman is committed to changing this. With extensive research and actionable steps, Pull Don’t Push clarifies the challenges facing STEM outreach and will help you create a new framework for your efforts. Following the guidelines in this book could literally put a million women into STEM jobs within the next decade. Learn how to stop pushing girls away and instead pull them toward unexplored paths to fulfillment.

Julie Newman is an electronics engineer who has worked at Boeing, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and SpaceX. She is a passionate advocate for women in engineering and cares deeply about the future of the industry. Julie serves as a board member for the Engaging Girls in STEM program with the Los Angeles County Office of Education and has been volunteering in STEM outreach for more than a decade.