Inclusion

Communication-Teamwork-Safety-Integrity-Inclusion-Respect

Today’s Rookie FIRST segment is featuring Inclusion, a principle of Girls of Steel that got largely more impactful this past year with the new addition of our Inclusion subteam. The focus of this subteam is to encourage and foster diversity in not only Girls of Steel, but also the wider FIRST community as a whole. A prominent goal was making sure that everyone, regardless of demographics, had access to FIRST opportunities and felt welcome in the field.

In the Inclusion subteam, the girls used graphics and data to strengthen their research on representation in the FIRST community. To ensure the most inclusive environment within our team, we filled out anonymous surveys at the beginning and end of preseason that address our concerns or improvements to make the team as strong and unified as possible! Additionally, an anonymous suggestion box was always open for the team to implement if need be. Finally, one of the most effective additions to improving inclusion in Girls of Steel was through a big/little program. FTC and younger FRC girls were partnered with a more experienced FRC girl. The bigs served as resources and familiar faces to the littles; they helped guide the littles through the season, which can sometimes seem overwhelming. Every few weeks after all-hands, we had short games that we played in our big/little groups as bonding. There was also a points system to encourage interaction outside of just the meeting. Points could be gained from doing outreach together, attending GoS events together, and doing other fun activities together. This program was extremely successful in making sure younger girls felt more connected and involved in the larger team as a whole!

“Overall, the entire big/little program was a great way for FTC girls to connect with the FRC girls and feel included as one, big team. ” – Harshitha L., FTC