One educator's attempt to pique girls' interest in nontraditional careers in the Seattle School District led to the creation of the now-international nonprofit IGNITE (Inspiring Girls Now in Technology Education). From its humble beginnings, IGNITE has impacted the lives of more than 20,000 girls, with thousands more across the globe each year.…

All-girl engineering workshops are increasing in popularity as a means to attract females into the male-dominated field of engineering. However, the effectiveness of such workshops as a recruitment tool is unclear. This report summarizes several research studies on this topic with the intent of showing the effectiveness of such workshops and other…

Surveys show that students persist in wanting occupational classes, and many of the small high schools being created around the country are built on a career theme. However, one neglected area in educational policy is the encouragement of girls to consider nontraditional occupations, ones that would move them up on career ladders providing higher…

Mentoring provides students with role models, inspiration and encouragement that helps paint the promise of a successful future. In this article, the author discusses examples of successful mentoring programs in career and technical education. Among them is the High Tech Girls Society (HTGS). The program was started in the 2003-2004 school year in…