Why Engineering Isn’t Connecting with Girls: Episode One

In this episode of The Conversation, I sit down with Julie Newman, accomplished aerospace engineer and bestselling author of Pull Don’t Push, to talk about a question worth asking: After decades of encouraging more girls to pursue STEM, why haven’t we seen the progress many expected?

Julie believes the problem isn’t a lack of encouragement. It’s how we’re communicating about engineering in the first place.

Too often, we lead with the obstacles—how difficult engineering is, how few women are in the field, or how much perseverance it takes to succeed. While those challenges are real, Julie argues that constantly emphasizing them may unintentionally discourage the very people we’re trying to inspire.

What if, instead, we started with possibility?

Julie and I discuss what engineering actually looks like: creativity, teamwork, communication, curiosity, and solving meaningful problems. We also explore the difference between pushing someone toward a particular path and creating an opportunity so compelling that they’re naturally pulled toward it.

And while our conversation begins with engineering, the lesson extends well beyond STEM. Whether you’re leading a team, developing young talent, or trying to influence someone toward a new idea, how you communicate the opportunity matters.

What Problems Do You Want to Solve? Episode Two

In Part Two of my conversation with Julie Newman, we explore how asking better questions can open doors to possibilities people may never have considered.

Instead of asking young people, “What are you passionate about?” Julie suggests a different question: “What problems do you want to solve?” It’s a simple shift, but it changes the conversation. Engineering becomes less about choosing a job title and more about finding a way to make a meaningful impact on the world.

Julie and I also talk about misconceptions that may be keeping talented young people from considering engineering in the first place. We discuss why creativity can be as important as math, the career opportunities engineering can provide, and why stories often inspire people more than statistics ever will. Julie even shares the unforgettable story of how NASA used what was essentially a giant inflatable “bouncy ball” to help land a rover on Mars—a great example of just how creative engineering can be.

We also look at the messages parents, educators, and STEM advocates are sending to the next generation. Are we inspiring curiosity and possibility, or unintentionally making engineering seem intimidating and out of reach?

Julie offers practical ideas for changing that conversation, along with free tools and resources she has developed to help make STEM outreach more effective.

It’s a conversation about engineering, but it’s also about something much bigger: how the questions we ask and the stories we tell can shape the possibilities people see for themselves.