General Thoughts on Girls, Stereotypes and Construction, or Why Girls Usually Don't Get Into Construction, and Why They Do Here
Before I came on the mission trip, I was pretty worried about the construction aspect of the trip. This was not because I was unwilling to learn new skills, but because psychologically, girls are not set up to do well at these types of tasks.
There are a number of reasons why girls might not jump for joy at the thought of spending a week at a construction site. The first that comes to mind has to do with stereotypes. Studies have shown that a consistently stereotyped group will perform poorly even if they have the skills to do well, simply because they know that this stereotype exists. At a construction site, girls who know that they are stereotyped against are likely to perform badly, just to conform to the stereotype that is so firmly ingrained into them. Another issue is perfectionism. Perfectionists, girls and guys alike, are often uninterested in trying new challenging tasks, because they view it as setting themselves up for failure. As a recovering perfectionist, I'm not especially interested in trying something new, for fear that I'll mess up, look like a fool, and bring the group down.
Even though the research and my knowledge of myself looks bleak, my team's group dynamics have been working against all of these reasons why I, and others like me, shouldn't be here. At our work site, many have expressed signs of a growth mindset, believing they can improve their own abilities, even after messing up, with practice and advice. As for the stereotype threat, a challenging job is just likely to be offered to a girl as a guy, and the positive atmosphere leaves little room for self-doubt. Overall, my work team's attitude and drive to get the job done while improving our own skills and view of ourselves exceeded my expectations. I have no doubt that our enormous potential for postitive change will not go wasted.
-Grace KL
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