Tag: girls

#BORNandMADE

Published on by BriAlys

BORNandMADEDid you know you’re Flawless? Of course you did – Beyonce said so! This song has become quite popular, along with the idea that, “I woke up like this”!! Meaning little to no effort is required to display your awesomeness! We don’t need fancy makeup or high heels to make us something we already are!

Consistent with this #girlpower  #alwaysfabuluous and #flawless theme, Carol’s Daughter launched a new campaign to promote beauty and positive messages about body image among girls and women, called #BornAndMade. The campaign is quite simple to participate in: make an image of yourself with your name, where you’re from, a quality that you’re “made with” and share it on social media. I included a few ideas from the campaign’s website in case you need a little inspiration. bornandmade.com

You can and should also watch Chmamanda’s full TED Talk – it’s her voice you hear in Beyonce’s song talking about Feminism (the belief in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes). The talk is substantive, thought provoking and very entertaining – definitely worth your time! If you can’t devote the time to watch it now, save it for later.

chimamanda.com

I Can Be a Computer Engineer

Published on by BriAlys

barbieengineerMattel recently released a dual Barbie book titled: I Can Be an Actress/I Can Be a Computer Engineer. Cool! There’s a national focus on Girls and STEM, so this can only be good, right? WRONG! One blogger sums it up this way:

“Despite having ruined her own laptop, her sister’s laptop, and the library’s computers, not to mention Steven and Brian’s afternoon, she takes full credit for her game design— only to get extra credit and decide she’s an awesome computer engineer! “I did it all by myself!“

The problem is that Barbie didn’t actually do any of the work. Another blogger sums it up with an article titled, “Computer Engineer Barbie Needs Men To Write Code, Can’t Reboot Computer“.

My first job out of college was a Software Engineer. I was the only African-American female of about 300 employees (there were probably 10 black people total and maybe 20 women). Reading a book that has Barbie relying on her male counterparts to implement her ideas and then taking credit for it is pretty offensive. Is she not smart enough? Does she not know how to do these types of things? What message are you sending to little girls? Kinda goes counter to the #Girls and #STEM movement!

So what does the Internet do when companies get it wrong? Kathleen Tuite put together a website called Feminist Hacker Barbie, which allows the public to rewrite the book. You basically take a scene from the book and re-write it with a more acceptable story-line! (And post it to social media of course).

If you still don’t believe the hype, check out the reviews for this book on Amazon.

Chime in for Change

Published on by BriAlys

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Chime for Change, founded by Gucci, is asking women everywhere to speak up for change all over the world. The kind of change that benefits girls and women everywhere. “Education. Health. Justice. For every girl. Every woman. Everywhere. Because none of us can move forward if half of us are held back.” Pick a cause and donate to hundreds of projects.

I ran across this initiative soon after I read, “6 simple ways to save the world” in the November issue of Marie Claire via NextIssue on my iPad mine.  Seeing some of the solutions people are coming up with to address women’s issues globally is eye-opening. Here are a few relevant highlights:

#ChimeIn

Made with Code

Published on by BriAlys

Google just launched an initiative, Made with Code, to get girls interested in computer programing. The tech giant has set aside $50 million for the program. “Made with Code will organize events where girls will be invited to do programming together and discover that computer programme codes can be used to make and print bracelets using 3D printers, design accessories to superimpose on “selfies” or compose an instrumental piece.” You can become a mentor or find an event near you. The site also offers resources (beginner and intermediate) for future coders, teachers, counselors  and parents.

Everyone (big kids included) can dig in and introduce themselves to techy-type projects if you’re interested! 

SOURCE: THE TIMES OF INDIA