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This page is really a continuation of The Beginning page. Once we were ready to introduce FLiAP to the business community and to look for possible partners, we started with Posts on LinkedIn. Because not everyone is on LinkedIn, we have copied the Posts here. The scope of this endeavour is massive, but it is doable with the right partners (local and global). We cannot do it alone.
Be a part of the solution. Explore the whole "About FLiAP" section (Navigation Bar on the right) to get a clearer picture of all the possibilities and in particular the Donor Benefits page. Next with your creative mind in high gear, check out the rest of the pilot website, keeping in mind that it is a beginning framework. You will be able to make a difference locally and globally.
Postings on LinkedIn: Stay tuned for more posts
December 24, 2019
Happy holidays and let's prove the World Economic Forum wrong.
Our target for closing the Gender Gap is 2 generations. This is a massive endeavour. We need global help, but it can be done. For more information, check out the beginnings of the FLiAP website (FLiAP.com) and contact me at margaret@fliap.com
October 8, 2019
Bias in > Bias out, STEM in > STEM out, Male STEM in > Male STEM out, No female STEM in > No Female STEM out
In 1673 and 1674, against the status quo, François Poullain de la Barre wrote two publications on his studies of the brains of men and women and came to the conclusion that both brains were exactly the same and if girls were given the same opportunities, they would be as capable as men. Unfortunately, men were not about to accept his findings.
Gustave Le Bon in 1895, claimed that “Women … represent the most inferior forms of human evolution and … are closer to children and savages than to an adult, civilized man.” He did admit that there were some very superior women to the average man, and he compared these women to birth monstrosities, such as a gorilla with two heads.
Gina Rippon, professor emeritus of cognitive neuroimaging at Aston University, England, has studied and written a fantastic book “The Gendered Brain”. In case you missed it, here’s a Globe and Mail brain teaser article 'Every brain is different from every other brain’: Author Gina Rippon challenges gender stereotypes’ – really worth reading.
March 4, 2019
Surprise! Mining is a STEM career. Mining is technology based. Technology is math based. Today most careers are technology based, and we are just beginning. We are only on the cusp of the 4th Industrial Revolution, and it is evolving at record speed. We must prepare the children for tomorrow and especially the girls, who are programmed to believe that math and science are for boys – biases not facts. Math and science are for gender equity.
There was a time that if you were planning a post-secondary education, math (basic algebra, geometry, trigonometry and calculus) and science (basic biology, physics and chemistry) were mandatory in secondary school. They were STEM-prepared, but not now, as schools allow students to drop math after grade 8. Today, all students need a STEM-prepared K-12 education. Basic elementary school math is not enough.
Being STEM-prepared means you can choose the exciting career of mining, as did Veronica Knott, who was quoted in The Globe and Mail (Mar. 2/19) as saying, “If you want excitement, then mining every single day is a challenge, with a new problem to solve every day.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-mining-jobs-grow-for-women-indigenous-people/ Keep reading – gender biases still persist.
January 14, 2019
Unfortunately, we are not preparing our girls to be leaders in AI and tech innovations. After all, STEM is for boys – right? Wrong! IBM’s President amp; CEO, Ginni Rometty, is quoted as saying, “If you want truly ethical, unbiased technology, you need to make sure that everyone has equal opportunity to participate in its creation.” In developed countries, we like to think that everyone has equal opportunity, but let’s not fool ourselves. Conscious and unconscious biases and stereotypes are alive and thriving in developed countries.
Without STEM being the norm for all, women will never be rulers, trailblazers or global technological innovators on the same level as men. We are not only on the cusp of the 4th Industrial Revolution, but globally we are also racing to be leaders in AI. Consider the repercussions of all those biased AI algorithms written by mostly men. Without gender and racial diversity equally participating in the creation of the algorithms, the conscious and unconscious biases we are facing today will be minor in comparison to the future, and the gender gap will no longer be shrinking, it will be expanding.
Learn what FLiAP is focused on doing to solve this problem globally. We invite your help.
December 17, 2018
Architecture, another STEM career, follows the gender path of Construction and Engineering. Does this shock you? As in Engineering, women tend to leave the Architectural profession and for many of the same reasons – macho culture and sexism being one of them. Survey results on the reasons women leave architecture haven’t changed in over 15 years, but in a recent American Institute of Architects’ survey, new reasons were added to the list – fewer job offers, slower rates of promotion, lack of women role models... . It’s worth reading. https://www.canadianarchitect.com/features/gender-diversity-in-canadas-architecture-profession/
Dezeen, an influential architecture and design magazine, surveyed the world’s 100 biggest architectural firms and revealed a shocking lack of gender diversity in senior positions. Dezeen used all publicly available information, followed up with 2 emails to verify the information, had responses from 27 and then during the verification process found that several of the companies had updated the details on their websites, changed URLs or even deleted web pages. Now why would they want to do that? Very insightful article. https://www.dezeen.com/2017/11/16/survey-leading-architecture-firms-reveals-shocking-lack-gender-diversity-senior-levels/
November 26, 2018
Engineering, the E in STEM, needs more women! Enticing girls into Engineering is hard work especially since fewer girls are qualified for STEM programs – no secondary school Math. But why are only 12.8% practicing engineers – they love the work and do a great job?
When brought in to publish an issue of The Voice https://mvj-group.on.ca/publishing/ I received a letter from a women with a Masters in Chemical Engineering, who after 10 years couldn’t take it anymore. Why did she leave? She wrote, “I enjoyed the jobs when I was allowed to do the jobs.”. Why wasn’t she allowed to do the jobs? Simply put, she was fighting off the gender biases of her male managers, who forced her into administrative assistant roles and sexually objectified her.
An A+ student after her first year in the engineering program switched majors and got out because of the way her male professors and students treated her. The Harvard Business Review in “The Subtle Stressors Making Women Want to Leave Engineering” describes the overt and covert gender discrimination. To stop, we need to dispel the stereotypes, and the conscious and unconscious biases early. https://www.fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP.html
November 5, 2018
Today Construction is a STEM career. Technology has changed the construction industry, but most people outside the industry don’t know it. They still see construction and its trades, as a job for high school dropout boys. After all, it is dirty, and for ‘brawn not brains’, and definitely not for girls. Right? NO. Wrong!
The truth is that today the construction trades require a secondary school diploma with courses in math and science to qualify for their post-secondary education. – No more dropouts.
If you ask educators about construction, they know very little about one of Canada’s largest employers. It is mainly the educators’ lack of knowledge paired with their conscious bias – construction is for boys – that result in girls’ lack of interest or consideration of a career in construction. – Did you know that women are proving to be exceptionally good welders, often better than their male colleagues?
Imagine if teachers could learn about the industry in a series of webinars and could see the many career opportunities for their girls. Well, this is just one of the planned learnings FLiAP intends to create for teachers in each of the careers under Career Resources. https://www.fliap.com/Pages/CareerResources.html
October 21, 2018
Do you ever think that our girls are being denied an education? What if I told you they were? Educational providers are the culprits. Many have conscious and unconscious biases which prevent our girls from being STEM bound – “Science and Math are for boys.”
And what about the educational providers and their relationship with businesses? They have none. In their research, McKinseyCompany found that ‘The disconnect between education providers and employers is larger in Canada than in other countries.’ (https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/americas/youth-in-transition) This is not surprising given that educational providers in Canada will not allow businesses near their children. Why? Advertising! The reality is, advertising to schools backfires. It’s about the students and about future employees, and NOT about selling products and services.
We’re on the cusp of the 4th Industrial Revolution (the tech revolution) and guidance counsellors have no idea what IT is. Educators need to know the jobs of the future and their requirements. Educators and businesses need to build relationships and work together. Businesses have so much to offer. Help FLiAP.com bridge the education to employment gap.
October 9, 2018
STEM is today’s acronym, which makes sense since we’re on the cusp of the 4th Industrial Revolution. We are not ready though, which is why Governments, industries, professions, companies… are all stressing STEM and donating money to ‘post-secondary’ institutions, so they can build STEM complexes. The University of Ottawa just opened their beautiful government funded STEM Complex – I have some questions for them.
Many of these same Governments, industries, professions, companies… also claim they want to close the Gender Gap. Our women advocates understand that ROI increases dramatically when women are in the executive levels and some really want to empower women.
But there is a major problem here. It is assumed that if we build STEM complexes, and want to have women students and executives, they will magically appear – “if you build it, they will come”– and the Gender Gap will close. Post-secondary is not where it starts. Unless we de-program our educators and start at Kindergarten to bring up girls without the damaging effects of conscious and unconscious biases, we will not increase the small numbers of girls entering STEM programs or empower more women to reach leadership and executive positions in all professions. Check out FLiAP.com
October 1, 2018
3 must reads: 1) women leaders ROI, 2) STEM sales 3) conquering your Gender Pay Gap. Enlightened companies realize the importance of having woman on their leadership team, and their impact on ROI. Read Forbes’ article: A Simple Change Could Give You A 63 Percent Higher Return On Investment (https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2016/08/27/a-simple-change-could-give-you-a-63-percent-higher-return-on-investment/#520b525f769d).
These same companies also know that women with a STEM education have an additional edge, as people with STEM backgrounds are very comfortable working in data rich environments. Read Fast Company’s article: How sales became a STEM job (https://www.fastcompany.com/90215537/how-sales-became-a-stem-job).
What do you do if you are a female leader with a STEM background and you’re suffering from Gender Pay Gap? Let Rita Trichur, The Globe and Mail’s financial services editor columnist, tell you: Amplify: How I learned to negotiate for what I need and deserve (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-amplify-how-i-learned-to-negotiate-for-what-i-need-and-deserve/).
FLiAP’s mission is to globally change the status quo of women, close the Gender Gap and… . Check ‘About FLiAP’ in FLiAP.com We can do it. Want to help?
September 24, 2018
Surprise! Yet another new study, ‘The STEM Gender Gap’, https://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php has proven that women lag far behind men in the STEM workforce. The solution is not a simple one. Conscious and unconscious biases starting at birth, play a huge role. Teachers with basic math, who believe a computer or smartphone is all they need, don’t help. In fact, they tell the girls that Math is hard and that Math and Science are for boys – they believe this because they were told this when they were very young. It’s no wonder girls don’t take secondary school math and thus don’t qualify for STEM post-secondary study.
For those few women who do study STEM professions in university, many change majors after 1 or 2 years because of sexual harassment or other forms of discrimination – yes, in university and by male professors and male students. And then the few that are left and actually make it into a STEM related workforce, in time they leave too. Who needs more harassment, lower pay and little opportunity for promotion? And the pipeline drips and drips until it is empty.
FLiAP’s mission is to globally change the status quo of women, close the Gender Gap and… . https://www.fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP.html We can do it. Do you want to help?
September 17, 2018
We are on the cusp of the 4th Industrial Revolution or let’s call it the Technology Revolution. It is here and rapidly expanding. How do we prepare our children and especially the girls for their futures? The answer is simple – compulsory Math from K-12!
Basic Elementary School Math is not enough. Secondary School Math (basic Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Calculus) needs to be the norm for everyone. The Technology Revolution requires K-12 Math. If we do not understand the language and logic of Mathematics, a calculator or smartphone won’t help us.
Information Technology (IT) is crying for more women. IT is a lot more than a profession today. It is already the basis of every profession and it requires K-12 Math. Today to study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) K-12 Math is mandatory. Think about it. Conscious and unconscious bias says Math is not for girls. Girls aren’t taking Secondary School Math. It’s no wonder STEM careers have so few women. Imagine tomorrow.
FLiAP is about building a user-friendly multi-sided platform – a digital resource/library an Internet connection/library card – where globally educators can prepare all students from K-12 (covertly or openly) for a post-secondary education.
September 11, 2018
Grade 7 - 8 is a tipping point for girls. They must decide to take Math in Secondary School – most girls don’t – or they close the door to the majority of today’s and tomorrow’s careers.
4 years ago, I spoke to girls in grades 7 and 8 about non-traditional careers – careers requiring advanced (secondary school) Math. The girls were excited about the careers, but not about the Math. (https://www.fliap.com/Pages/CareerResources.html) When asked why, I was astonished how many said, “Math is too hard.”, “Math is for boys.”, “If we have a computer, we don’t need Math.” When asked who told them, I was shocked when I heard almost all of them say, their (female) teachers. When asked, who else, their mothers came in second.
I explained, that Math was actually the easiest subject they could take. Everything was based on previous knowledge. If they had a problem, they just needed to find the step they were missing, learn it, enjoy an ‘aha moment’ and have their marks jump up 20%. Best of all, if their teacher didn’t like them, they could still get 100%. And there was still time to catch up.
By improving their Math, they would learn to love it, they would see how easy it was, and how it would help them solve so many problems – after all, ‘girls love to solve problems’.
September 6, 2018
Can we wait 9 – 11+ generations for global gender equality? NO! Education is vital for both the educators and the girls around the world. According to UNESCO’s global statistics (below) there are far too many girls not being educated. And even in our own schools, educators are challenged. To fulfill FLiAP’s mission to globally change the status quo of the next generation of women, our aim is to assure that all educators and girls have global access to everything needed to educate and empower girls from a K-12 education to post-secondary readiness, whether in a traditional classroom or a private covert space.
Think of FLiAP (a digital multi-sided platform) as a one-stop library and the Internet connection as a library card. To understand FLiAP, examine the pilot (FLiAP.com) and for the girls and women in your lives and around the world, please take a look at the FLiAP Introduction Booklet ( https://fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP.html ) and study the About FLiAP section. And then if you have connections that will help us and partner with us, we would appreciate your assistance.
August 29, 2018
Should we be surprised by today’s breaking news “EQAO: Less than half of Ontario Grade 6 math students make the grade” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-eqao-less-than-half-of-ontario-grade-6-math-students-make-the-grade/ when the teachers scores aren’t much better?
August 27, 2018
In the essay “Warren Buffett is bullish ... on women” written for Fortune Magazine (May 2013), Warren Buffet tells a story about his dear friend Katharine Graham, former chairman and CEO of The Post Co. and publisher of The Washington Post. It is a must read, especially since things haven’t changed even though we are supposed to be more enlightened. https://fortune.com/2013/05/02/warren-buffett-is-bullish-on-women/
Let’s assume you have read the essay. Can you believe that Katharine Graham had feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt and had an inner voice that told her that men knew more about running a business than she ever would? Did you know that during her 18 years as boss, the Washington Post stock went up more than 4,000% – that’s 40 shares for 1? And did you know that even after she won a Pulitzer Prize for her superb autobiography, her self-doubt still remained? As Warren Buffet said, this is “a testament to how deeply a message of unworthiness can be implanted in even a brilliant mind.”
These are just a few of the things mentioned in the essay. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for? FLiAP is about changing the status quo of women and ensuring brainwashing is a rarity.
August 20, 2018
Did you know that in South Asia, women face a wait of 1000 years or 50 generations to close their gender gap? Both conscious and unconscious biases play huge roles. But don’t think you’re safe because you’re not in South Asia. Unconscious biases play a big part of your lives. They are thriving everywhere, and yes, in developed countries, and in your home too. You have inherited them and you have passed them on. They start early. Research has shown that gender stereotypes are defined between 5 and 7 years of age. Watch the youngsters in this classroom video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3Aweo-74kY . Surprised? Now see if you can identify all the biases in the picture below. We are all programmed – some worse than others. FLiAP has a global plan, a mission, a vision https://www.fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP.html and it starts with awareness. You cannot change the status quo of the next generation of women and close the gender gap in 2 generations instead of 11 without awareness. Go to FLiAP.com and read the About FLiAP section to learn what we are doing and how you can help.
August 14, 2018
We are beginning the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must recognize, address and enhance opportunities for girls, and especially in subject areas traditionally thought of as domains for men – the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Current and future jobs are demanding ever more and more STEM knowledge and leadership skills, and in girls. STEM knowledge requires more than basic elementary school Mathematics. Educators must know Math to teach it. Who are the K-12 educators globally? https://www.fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP-Educators.html Do teachers know basic Math? “Could you pass the math quiz that student teachers have to take at U of T? Try the quiz at the end of The Globe and Mail article.” https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-fuzzy-numbers-how-math-instruction-varies-widely-for-teachers-to-be/
Just a reminder: To ensure I can continue to develop FLiAP, let me help you through MVJ Group Inc. with those overdue projects – mvj-group.on.ca will show you my areas of expertise. It’s a win/win/win solution. Your projects are completed at a reasonable rate, my bills are paid while I go after the big funders, and we get closer to closing the gender gap, and much sooner than predicted.
August 8, 2018
It has been a while, but I am ready to introduce you to FLiAP, a global endeavour I have been researching and developing for a few years. For the girls and women in your lives, please take a look at the FLiAP Introduction Booklet on this page: (https://fliap.com/Pages/AboutFLiAP.html) and FLiAP.com. I am at the point of going after major funding to solve this global need. I do not want your money. Through MVJ Group Inc, I want to help you with those overdue projects – mvj-group.on.ca will show you my areas of expertise. It’s a win/win/win solution. Your projects are completed and at a reasonable rate, my bills are paid while I go after the big funders, and we get closer to closing the gender gap, and much sooner than predicted.
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