Growing up in STEM - as a girl: Cassidy Williams at TEDxDesMoinesWomen

Iowa State University Computer Science major Cassidy Williams was often the only girl in the room. She shares her story of pursuing her passion as a model for encouraging women in STEM.
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Пікірлер: 116

  • @ChrisPirillo
    @ChrisPirillo10 жыл бұрын

    I believe that Cassidy is a perfect STEM model for women and humankind.

  • @RadiomeS

    @RadiomeS

    10 жыл бұрын

    I love her drive and optimism. Inspiring.

  • @viewerguy10

    @viewerguy10

    10 жыл бұрын

    What a coincidence. I came here from one of your videos.

  • @Bob-fz7pd

    @Bob-fz7pd

    5 жыл бұрын

    Exactly what we need. Another sjw blazing a trail in an area that women have little intrest in. Coming next: Brave women bridging the gap to the roofing crew.

  • @versailleschick1994
    @versailleschick19946 жыл бұрын

    I watched a video of a girl that said, "I was a Computer Science major, but I changed it to Women and Gender Studies". There's a problem right there.

  • @user-og8gl5hf4d

    @user-og8gl5hf4d

    6 жыл бұрын

    versailleschick1994 lol

  • @jedrudolph3128

    @jedrudolph3128

    5 жыл бұрын

    "I was a Computer Science major, but then i realized you can't fake that, so I changed it to Women and Gender Studies."

  • @henzsol6771

    @henzsol6771

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@SanityBargain post was not sarcastic. Many people believe that. Putting his/her brain in a blender is unnecessary. It's already mush.

  • @Anastasia-vo2gf

    @Anastasia-vo2gf

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@SanityBargain Or, or.. OR, it was *gasp... a joke!

  • @maedaferoz7053

    @maedaferoz7053

    4 жыл бұрын

    Drop Down to be that sexist I’m sure you lack not just logic but a brain as well

  • @Thomasfrank
    @Thomasfrank10 жыл бұрын

    Awesome talk, Cassidy!

  • @MediaNSTEM
    @MediaNSTEM3 жыл бұрын

    At NSTEM, we continually encourage girls and women to study STEM fields. The most meaningful quote from this video was "Anybody can do all kinds of amazing things if you find something you're passionate about." What an inspiration to so many girls and women.

  • @katherineannnguyen
    @katherineannnguyen Жыл бұрын

    I've never seen someone so passionate and inspiring. So amazing!

  • @slicer009
    @slicer0097 жыл бұрын

    This was 12 minutes of her personal history, and 1 minute of the message...

  • @sherrybopcherrypop

    @sherrybopcherrypop

    5 жыл бұрын

    Maybe it's because the title of the video is "GROWING UP IN STEM"

  • @rea72081
    @rea7208110 жыл бұрын

    Wonderful speech and thank you for being such an inspiration for young women everywhere! I can only hope that the doors you are working to open are there for my daughter when she gets older. Keep up the great work and keep inspiring everyone!

  • @sirhumphreyappleby8399
    @sirhumphreyappleby83997 жыл бұрын

    Lets encourage everyone into stem regardless of gender !

  • @1acroyear1

    @1acroyear1

    7 жыл бұрын

    Talk like that will get you labelled a misogynist.

  • @purplecatloverrandompizza

    @purplecatloverrandompizza

    5 жыл бұрын

    Yes but the point isnt to have less guys in stem It's for more girls because there are less

  • @kays3599
    @kays35996 жыл бұрын

    Love this Cassidy! Great meeting you at the hackathon!

  • @bryceellis112
    @bryceellis1124 жыл бұрын

    Awesome talk Cassidooo

  • @purplecatloverrandompizza
    @purplecatloverrandompizza5 жыл бұрын

    So there was this thing you could sign up to do for girls in ELP(extended learning program, basically the gifted program) where we could go to a college (Iowa state omg same place) and do activities that are stem all hands on, like learning about building and engineering, making apps, or learning about nuclear power with radioactive chemicals Btw, were in 8th grade Moral of the story Iowa state is amazing and my sister goes there too

  • @mfmonline
    @mfmonline3 жыл бұрын

    Amazing!! 👏👏

  • @mauriwhalen2823
    @mauriwhalen28238 жыл бұрын

    You rocked it! Loved the talk.

  • @filipamoraes1950
    @filipamoraes19506 жыл бұрын

    Great inspiring talk Cassidy. One question: have you been studying abroad in Spain or in Portugal? The picture you show is in Lisbon, Portugal if I am not mistaken...

  • @nobytes2

    @nobytes2

    4 жыл бұрын

    If you listen closely in the video she said she studied in Spain. 🤦‍♂️

  • @TheRanej
    @TheRanej10 жыл бұрын

    Cassidy will change the world, I am honored to know and work with her! Please show this video to all your daughters!

  • @mauicatmeow
    @mauicatmeow8 жыл бұрын

    I'm the only girl in my AP computer science class😛

  • @jamesline5103

    @jamesline5103

    7 жыл бұрын

    Does that make you any less motivated?

  • @ChristianPaulson-Music

    @ChristianPaulson-Music

    7 жыл бұрын

    In schools where I've been a principal, the girls in what are considered to be non-traditional courses in AP and CTE tended to be more determined to rank higher than the boys.

  • @jamesline5103

    @jamesline5103

    7 жыл бұрын

    Chris Paulson Probably because if you are a girl willing to get to the top in a male-dominated field you are likely a very determined person.

  • @GnarliesAngelz

    @GnarliesAngelz

    7 жыл бұрын

    I'm the only girl in my Metalwork engineering class and I love it. It pushes me to work harder because I want to beat them

  • @TibbsMM

    @TibbsMM

    7 жыл бұрын

    Lauren X So youre in it to "beat them?" instead of love for the subject? Lol

  • @mboiko
    @mboiko7 жыл бұрын

    In the late 70's and early 80's women had MANY fewer career choices in areas that paid well, compared to today. Back then close to 40% of ALL Computer Science majors were women. Now when women can do ANYTHING they want and have so MANY more career choices available to them ..there's only 17-18% women Computer Science graduates. You either respect women's current career choices or you don't. But one thing is for sure, you can't blame companies or men for choices women themselves have made...especially since they now dominate many fields that were once men only. Next time you take your dog/cat to a Vet notice how few men there are in a once "almost" male only profession. In a day and age when women make up an incredible 60-70%+ of most colleges...women could have taken over much of STEM if they really wanted to, a long time ago. But they don't because that is not where their interest truly lies...NOT because of their ability. This is an inconvenient truth society hates to admit...

  • @debrawehrly9031

    @debrawehrly9031

    5 жыл бұрын

    mboiko I agree with you. In the 1970's and earlier, women did make up a large percentage of computer programming. In fact, the first computer programmer was a woman, Aida Lovelace. Before the invention of computer, women themselves were hired by companies to be "human computers." I do not understand why so many women today are not as interested since women did play a big role in it. Perhaps what you said was true about women having more choices. Oh well. By the way, Veterinary Science is a good field too.

  • @tsiandefour4147

    @tsiandefour4147

    5 жыл бұрын

    We can definitely place blame on men for contributing to the stigmatization of women in STEM, that was the whole point of her "LEGO" allegory. Women's choices aren't shifted by a magical wind - your statistic alone demonstrates that because if women were at once interested in the field we must infer that there was a pull factor, to get 40% of women interested in the computer science and then a push factor to get them out. Additionally it seems to be that a lot of the pushing happens in college if Cassidy Williams starting class of computer science majors was 30 but ended with 4, that is a 10.8% retention rate. With that data we can get closer to examining a pull factor that leads to women leaving the CS fields, by asking what happens between year 1 and 4 that deters women from them. On the other hand, what we probably shouldn't do, is blame the decline in interest from Women in computer science on an unidentifiable force in HALF (40% to 20%) the women who did generate interest to declare it is as a college major.

  • @user-go9kw6wf4m

    @user-go9kw6wf4m

    Жыл бұрын

    But vet and nursing existed in 70s too. Then why did women prefer cs over them?

  • @mboiko

    @mboiko

    Жыл бұрын

    @@user-go9kw6wf4m Because back in the day ('60s-'70s) women dominated the computer keypunch field so society looked at it as a natural progression to take CS in school. During the '50s,60's and part of the 70's most women were secretaries, nurses, teachers, etc. There were very few female veterinarians back then....now it is just the opposite. Almost 40% of ALL CS graduates in 1980 were women, now it's just a fraction of that. Because now women can do ANYTHING THEY WANT...and they have MANY fields to choose from now instead of just a few as they did back in the day. So now there's only a small fraction of women graduating with CS majors because women should be allowed to do whatever they really want.

  • @Duch3ssx
    @Duch3ssx10 жыл бұрын

    inspirational

  • @lemondrops9724
    @lemondrops97247 жыл бұрын

    I watched this in stem class at school. Why am I here.

  • @BeingHumane173
    @BeingHumane1737 жыл бұрын

    Great Job Cassidy !!! Keep it up !!! wish you all the best !!!

  • @tylert7588
    @tylert75888 жыл бұрын

    I don't like the corporate push for girls in STEM. If a girl wants to be in STEM then good for her... But enough with the social engineering

  • @tylert7588

    @tylert7588

    8 жыл бұрын

    Feminism seems to want equality for the "fun stuff." Why is there not a push for girls to enter construction or sanitation or other male dominated fields

  • @michelleb5563

    @michelleb5563

    8 жыл бұрын

    This is an interesting point and there are several reasons for this push. Some of it comes from industry and has nothing to do with "feminism." First, there is a general industry push for more people to get STEM degrees. We are not graduating enough engineers and we need more regardless of gender. Another big reason is that innovation comes from a variety of viewpoints. You need an influx of new ideas to arrive at the next breakthrough. The best design teams should be made up of people with a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds. When you are struggling with a problem, sometimes it takes a fresh perspective from someone else to see a solution. Currently, many of our design teams our lopsided, dominated by men. Women bring a different perspective, not better or worse, just different, and not only does this help with ideas and problem solving, but also helps to make sure that a company's target customer base is demographically more closely represented in the design team. The challenge is that women are not encouraged, and often discouraged, from going into STEM fields. Considering we need more engineers, this wipes out ~50% of the potential population of engineers.

  • @240180cassie

    @240180cassie

    8 жыл бұрын

    I think that lots of the researchers involved in this topic would agree with you... ENOUGH WITH THE SOCIAL ENGINEERING! (but you're ideas of social engineering are probably at odds)

  • @okaro6595

    @okaro6595

    6 жыл бұрын

    Michelle B Do you think the industry is not polluted by Feminism? Think about Damore. Since men have greater natural talent to STEM it would make sense to encourage more men to take it. Yet there are only special programs to encourage women. If different views are so needed why are conservatives discriminated against. You can be fired for stating obvious differences between men and women.

  • @chrisdavis2024

    @chrisdavis2024

    6 жыл бұрын

    There is. Don't assume. Unless you've been a woman in what is considered a men's field, do some research before you offer an opinion. The glass ceiling is across all fields. Women want to be mechanics, electricians, engineers, doctors, morticians and any other career you can think of. You're part of the problem. This isn't social engineering, it's equality.

  • @Jimbo898
    @Jimbo8989 жыл бұрын

    So how do these hackahton participants protect their intellectual property?

  • @patrick247two
    @patrick247two9 жыл бұрын

    As a early childhood teacher, I have found my young charges are often keen STEM scientists.

  • @crayolagangsta2000
    @crayolagangsta20007 жыл бұрын

    I hate cassidy's ads. Please stop showing them, for the love of God.

  • @foreverme.1366
    @foreverme.13668 жыл бұрын

    Im a girl and african american a double minority! I want to major in computer science but im afraid due to my gender and race i wont find a job in the markets

  • @november7539

    @november7539

    8 жыл бұрын

    +foreverme.1 A lot of companies these days have an affirmative action policy, which means they give minorities an advantage when it comes to getting the job. So don't sweat it.

  • @foreverme.1366

    @foreverme.1366

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Jimmy John yes... Fear because of discrimination

  • @foreverme.1366

    @foreverme.1366

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Jimmy John thanks

  • @foreverme.1366

    @foreverme.1366

    8 жыл бұрын

    +Jimmy John thank you i really appreciate it .

  • @alexstrojny6703

    @alexstrojny6703

    8 жыл бұрын

    +foreverme.1 Hi, I am currently in college for computer and biomedical engineering at Boston University. If you want to learn more about computer science/engineering I can help as I am a mentor to other high school girls who are excited to join computer science and would love to help others get a head start in a field they're excited about :) Just message me.

  • @YawnGod
    @YawnGod3 жыл бұрын

    >"finished my spanish minor" >shows a picture of lisbon I see what you did there.

  • @vanities7374
    @vanities73747 жыл бұрын

    "Girls don't play with legos." We guys tell girls that all the time.

  • @siobhanbartz2688

    @siobhanbartz2688

    5 жыл бұрын

    People who tell others that they can't do something just because of race,religion,and gender are terrible human beings.

  • @bernardohernandez2620
    @bernardohernandez26206 жыл бұрын

    I hate to be that guy..... but no one says that women can’t join stem. The reason that there aren’t a lot of women in stem is because on a general census, women don’t prefer the field. Look at Iran, Azerbaijan, and other countries where women are less equal. Women make up almost half of the stem departments at universities. But when living in western countries where they are more equal, women don’t make the same choices because they simply don’t make the choices that feminists would like them to.

  • @megmarie9944

    @megmarie9944

    6 жыл бұрын

    i get what you mean, but what we need to look into is if there is an underlying cause as to why women "don't prefer the field". Are the traditional gender roles and construction of these societal norms being internalised by young girls, making them think they're "not interested" when really, they were being discouraged by institutions such as the media since the day they could talk? I completely get what you mean but isn't it important to look beyond the fact that women may not prefer stem and simply ask why? I mean, why is this prevalent in our society and possibly not in other cultures? there are a number of external forces which come into play and i think it's important for people to understand this rather than taking facts at face value, basing them on "general census". but yeah bro, whatever floats your boat

  • @megmarie9944

    @megmarie9944

    6 жыл бұрын

    also i'm doing a sociological investigation on this topic so i'm keen to hear your response

  • @jedrudolph3128

    @jedrudolph3128

    5 жыл бұрын

    Be "that guy". "Those guys" are the only cure for this nonsense, and people need to speak up about it.

  • @l.c.8475

    @l.c.8475

    5 жыл бұрын

    I'd hate to be "that girl" but I've had math teachers that would pick on girls just to put them on the spot knowing that they couldn't possibly solve the problems in the amount of time given, praising the boys even if a girl was better. And after that would you go into a field where you are told that you're only doing it to get a boyfriend? The thing is the same is happening in art and social fields just the other way around.

  • @user-go9kw6wf4m

    @user-go9kw6wf4m

    Жыл бұрын

    If women were not interested in stem, then why would they even chose it in other countries. And countries like China and Russia too have gender equality but they have good number of women in stem

  • @vladimirremmirez7671
    @vladimirremmirez76715 жыл бұрын

    she says boys told her lago is for boys, but then brags about meeting mark zuckerburg

  • @mboiko
    @mboiko Жыл бұрын

    In the early '80s, almost 40% of ALL Computer Science graduates were WOMEN. But now women do WHATEVER they want and NOW women make up only 14-16% of CS graduates. Women prefer being CEOs, Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians, Managers, Veterinarians..and a million other very high-paying jobs...jobs they couldn't have gotten in the 50s, 60s 70, etc... Let women choose what they want to do...and stop trying to force them to do what you want them to do.

  • @tahirarasn7532
    @tahirarasn75323 жыл бұрын

    F

  • @vladimirremmirez7671
    @vladimirremmirez76715 жыл бұрын

    51 seconds in, she already proved tha point that women arnt interested in Stem, by saying a bunch of boys playing with lagos, vs one girl,(whom is her, who just happened to be interested with lagos too) lmao most girls have different interest than boys period

  • @siobhanbartz2688

    @siobhanbartz2688

    5 жыл бұрын

    It doesn't have to be like that. The reason that most girls are interested in different things, btw, is because how they were brought up. It is sexism and should stop. Please don't hate on different genders. We are all human and could make our own decisions. That wasn't nice to say.

  • @vladimirremmirez7671

    @vladimirremmirez7671

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@siobhanbartz2688 uhhh if this was reversed it wouldn't be acceptable. The reason that most boys are interested in different things, btw, is because how they were brought up. It is sexism and should stop. Please don't hate on different genders. So therefore They should be treated as girls and taught how to be feminine. If not This is sexism, we are just all humans.

  • @vladimirremmirez7671

    @vladimirremmirez7671

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@siobhanbartz2688 You're being sexist for criticizing femininity, and Female gender roles

  • @user-go9kw6wf4m

    @user-go9kw6wf4m

    Жыл бұрын

    ​@@vladimirremmirez7671how do you define feminity ?? Does encouraging girls to play with Legos and going in stem makes them less feminine ??

  • @Unboundedominion
    @Unboundedominion5 жыл бұрын

    What about pushing women into STEM so hard that it might be a bust? Seriously, real legitimate question: What happens when you push so hard, when you advertise and endorse so much for women in STEM that it produces nothing? No female Albert Einstein or Socrates? Imagine the backlash to the letdown. "Well, THEY said great things would come of women in STEM, where's my flying car? (*insert whatever fantastic promise to bring to the table) I think it's a setup for failure, a recipe for disaster. If the view can be re-thought of as something else, what women will bring then it'll be okay.

  • @purplecatloverrandompizza

    @purplecatloverrandompizza

    5 жыл бұрын

    It's not pushing girls into stem Its encouraging them to pursue stem

  • @siobhanbartz2688

    @siobhanbartz2688

    5 жыл бұрын

    There are female geniuses (Marie Curie, Hypatia, Marie Sibylla Merian, Wang Zhenyi, Mary Anning, Ada Lovelace, Elizabeth Blackwell, Hertha, Ayrion, Karen Horney, Nettie Stevens, Florence Bascom, Mary Agnes Chase, Lise Meitner, Lillian Gilbreth, and many more. Just because you're a different gender doesn't mean that you cannot do something.

  • @meetoobaa
    @meetoobaa8 жыл бұрын

    She seems oblivious about how perfectly she fits into society. Her advice at the end is kinda crap, if you happen to be a social networking genious and passionate about a hot field like 'technology for the future' then you really dont need that advice in the first place. Guide to success: 1. be a social networking/speaker genious and 2. specialize in a subject involving big money.