Page 97 - T-I JOURNAL19 4

ADDRESSING THE GENDER GAP 745

support and feedback at the MGTR and along the teammates had limited time to fully engage in and
way. However, the most significant people supporting understand all of the processes necessary for invent-
their journeys were parents and teachers. Magdalena ing. As mentioned above, it was not until the MGTR
talked about her teachers, who provided guidance in February that Chelly realized the importance of
and shared their technical expertise, while Celaena her team’s project—not just for the team but also for
and Chelly talked about their parents more. Celaena the larger community interested in seeing the proto-
stated that her parents “forced me to go to STEM” but type. Time was an issue for Celaena and Magdalena,
then provided the support needed for her to succeed who worked on their InvenTeam project during the
in school and the InvenTeam project. Chelly, on the school day, afterschool, and on Saturdays because
other hand, emphasized her mother’s role in pushing they had multiple demands. Celaena stated that her
“that idea [to go to college] on me” and getting her “tenth grade was the hardest year. I had to prioritize
to join Project Grad and the afterschool InvenTeam. InvenTeams over robotics …[and] got really over-
The InvenTeam organization and processes, the whelmed.” Magdalena also talked about “scheduling
resources, and the people were significant supports difficulties” and a conflict with robotics, noting that
in the young women’s engagement with invention, the inventing “wasn’t going as quick as it needed to
but, ultimately, they saw their own personal qualities, be,” and she “was scared” because they “were going to
values, and beliefs as forces driving their success in lose a lot of [team members with coding experience]
InvenTeams and STEM. Celaena took pride in her for a while” due to schedule conflicts with robotics.
“ability to speak to people” and to create “harmony” Thus, as the participants made visible in the inter-
when “dealing with a bunch of people.” Magdalena views, inventing requires significant amounts of time,
emphasized the importance of her leadership skills which becomes a challenge for high school students
and her ability to “take charge … so that things are who have multiple demands on their time. Magdalena
happening.” Meanwhile, Chelly talked about her estimated that she spent seven to eight hours per
“many interests” and associated her ability to look week working on the invention, while Celaena and
at “engineering [as] a growing industry I should Chelly both thought that they spent nine to 10 hours
learn about” with her “love to learn” attitude and her per week.
recollection of “always loving school.” She also said Participants not only felt constrained by time
her wanting to “do something good … that will impact but also by the stereotypes about women in STEM.
community” sustained her through the “highs and Celaena was most explicit about the stereotypes, stat-
lows” of the experience, leading to more confidence ing that there is a “stereotype on girls that you are not
in her ability to persist and to “make it” in college. supposed to be interested.” Talking about her shift
to math becoming her strongest subject, she said
Constraints that previously she heard “you’re not supposed to be
The young women interviewed for this research interested,” and she believed that STEM “was sitting
emphasized their successes and supports, but they in a classroom doing math equations all day.” If not
also shared the constraints and challenges they expe- for her parents’ support and push to go to a STEM
rienced. Our analyses of the interviews identified school, she may never have come to see herself as
three factors constraining the work of InvenTeams: an inventor. Chelly did not state the stereotypes as a
1) time; 2) stereotypes; and 3) lack of knowledge, constraint explicitly, but, in describing her experience,
exposure, understanding, and engagement. she indicated that prior to the afterschool leader’s
InvenTeam students have one school year to com- invitation, she had not considered coding or STEM
plete phases 4 through 8 of the InvenTeam grant cycle as a pathway for her future. The participants had to
outlined in Table 1. Periodic check-ins and one site overcome stereotypes about females in STEM in order
visit by LMIT staff help the teams maintain momen- to see themselves as leaders, innovators, inventors,
tum and use their time effectively, but, as the young and important members of InvenTeams.
women shared, time was a challenge. InvenTeam work While time and stereotypes were significant con-
was an afterschool activity for Chelly, so she and her straints, the constraints that the participants described