Why Are There So Few Women Engineers? | Jane Burke | TEDxYouth@MountEverettRS

What role can education play in shepherding young people towards unimagined routes? What is the impact of mentors and role models in the successful journey of girls into the STEM world? The Young Women in Science Program has dramatically changed the lives of girls in the Berkshires. This talk will include my roots/route that enabled me to start the program and the stories of girls who participated. Jane Burke comes from four generations of chemists but her first intention was to become a dancer. At
Brandeis she became fascinated with chemistry and chose the path to helping young people love science
while at Harvard Graduate School of Education. After living in New York, Cambridge, Pasadena, London,
and Melbourne, she moved to a 200-acre farmstead in New Marlborough in 1980. Though fully dedicated
to public education she started the Flying Cloud Institute in 1984 to bring new ideas to learning the
sciences, engineering, mathematics, and the arts into the schools across Berkshire County and beyond.
With husband Larry, she created the SMArt Summer Program for local children so they can engage with
professional artists and scientists. She founded Young Women in Science in 2000. Retired, she works as a
science educator adding early childhood STEM learning to her interests. One of the great rewards is her
relationships with former students who are now doing amazing things. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx