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04/25/13 | Uncategorized

Update Take Your Daughter to Work Day: Teach Her About Tech Instead

Today is Take Your Daughter to Work Day. If your kids are less than excited by this worthy but dated occasion, how about introducing them to technology instead, suggests one female CEO.

By Jessica Stillman (Editor, Women 2.0)

Today is the 20th anniversary of Take Your Daughter to Work Day. A pioneering idea to enlarge the experiences and ambitions of girls in its day, the yearly occasion for parent-child bonding is–let’s admit it–starting to feel a bit dated. Unless you’re an astronaut or a cowgirl, a one-day immersion in your work life is probably not going to light up the imagination of your kids.

You might be doing awesome things at your computer or in your cube but visually observed from the outside, it doesn’t really seem that interesting, is it?

So female CEO Adrian Ott offered a fabulous update building on the original, worthy idea behind the holiday: How about introducing your daughter to technology instead?

“Itā€™s well documented that girls need more exposure to tech and science careers–they also need more female role models,” she writes on Fast Company before suggesting several ways to open your daughters’ eyes to the awesomeness of science and tech, including:

Learn about women in tech and science:Ā WITI (Women in Technology International) is sponsoring aĀ social media scavenger huntĀ for high school girls to learn about female role models. In this contest, girls can name their favorite role model, grab fun badges such as ā€œIā€™m a WITI girlā€ (love the pun), and create Pinterest boards with their favorite women in tech and science. Winners will get free tickets to meet inspirational women in tech and science at the annual WITIĀ Hall of Fame CeremonyĀ in June and other prizes.

Visit a tech or science museum:Ā If you’re in the Bay area, theĀ ExploratoriumĀ in San Francisco just re-opened on Pier 15 with 150 new exhibits.

Join the Worldwide #WITI Wave celebration:Ā Letā€™s show our kids that women work in tech and science careers around the world by posting your video to theĀ WITI WaveĀ page or tweeting your support for women in tech at #WITIWave.

Sign your kids upĀ for a technology or science summer camp such asĀ iD Tech Camps held at many U.S. universities.

Check out the complete post and more suggestions for how to refresh and refashion Take Your Daughter to Work Day.

Women 2.0 readers: What other ways can parents introduce their girls to technology today?Ā 

Jessica Stillman is an editor at Women 2.0 and a freelance writer with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She writes a daily column for Inc.com and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM and Brazen Careerist, among others. Follow her on Twitter at @entrylevelrebel.

Photo credit:Ā U.S. Navy photo by Greg Vojtko.

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