GIA Magazine Issue I by Girls in Aerospace Foundation

ISSUE 001

Dec 2020

GIRLS INÂ AERO IMAGES COURTESY OF NASA

CONNECT with us

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www.girlsinaerospace.org @girlsinaerospace @girlsinaero girlsinaerospace@gmail.com /girlsinaero

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

our

PP A AR R TT N N EE R R SS 02

II SS SS U U EE O ON N EE sections

one about the foundation

three articles and features

two women in stem

four aerospace tidbits

table of

CONTENTS CONTENTS

01 02 03 04 05 07 09 10 11 13

Connect Partners Sections Contents The Team Who We Are Our Mission Programs From the Founder Campaigns

15 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 29

From the Readers Aerospace Podcasts Aerospace Movies Defining Feminism Female Education Education Statistics Rocket Launches Hubble Images Racism in Feminism Women's Republic

33 Girl Security 37 Get Involved

TT H H EE TT EE AA M M authors + designers KAROLINA DUBIEL Seattle, WA, USA Lead director, graphic designer, partnerships

RISHA CHAURASIA India Feature author and contributor

SOPHIE CHANG Chesterfield, MO, USA Feature author and contributor

VICTORIA GONZALEZ Los Angeles, CA, USA Feature author and contributor 05

featuring SAI SAILAJA SESHADRI Women's Republic Founder of Women's Republic online magazine

contributors KATHALINNE GONZALEZ ZOYA KHAN AMEHJA W. TONI MCLAUGHLIN ALEX ALLRED MAAHNUM ZAHEER AUREA CORS KAMALEN SANTOS

LAUREN BEAN BUITTA Girl Security Founder at Girl Security

CHRISTINA MACLEOD BONTLE MOLEFE NB

WHO WHO WE WE ARE ARE by the numbers

10,000+ 201 5 1 07

people reached

resources in our database

CORE Team member positions

PSA PSA

how to access GIA resources

Head over to the GIA website and click on the "Resources" tab, then filter according to what you're looking for!

O OU URR M MIISSSSIIO ON N to provide: Anne McClain, a NASA Astronaut. Photos courtesy of NASA.

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Aerospace education opportunities, communities, and resources

Recognition of women in aerospace and formation of aerospace role models

Astronaut Mae Jemison at the International Space Station. Photo courtesy of NASA.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

our

PROGRAMS

1 Jessica Meir waters plants at the ISS, courtesy of NASA.

2 3

Webinars. GIA hosts regular webinars with aerospace professionals so that youth can familiarize themselves with possible careers.

Social Media Campaigns. GIA hosts campaigns such as #WeAreGIA to highlight the accomplishments of "ordinary" women in aerospace.

Outreach programs, such as school club curriculums, collaborations, and this magazine to bring our community together.

The first Hispanic woman in space, Ellen Ochoa, courtesy of NASA. 10

from

THE FOUNDER a conversation with Karolina Dubiel

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been hugely passionate about aviation, but my interest in the field increased after getting the opportunity to join the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), where I was able to take my first flight in a Cessna 172 aircraft. In early 2020, I was issued a Student Pilot Certificate, which had been a huge "career" goal for me. While I was proud of the effort and passion I had shown for aviation, it was very hard for me to be happy with myself. I was incredibly grateful for the CAP opportunities that I had been given, but I felt that I couldn't celebrate this knowing that there were thousands if not millions - of young women who wanted this just as much as me but weren't given the chance. If I didn't at least do the bare minimum I could do to create opportunities for them, then who was I to celebrate? Originally from Poland,

11 11

I was able to see the lack of female encouragement and aerospace education in Europe and the US and decided to launch GIA to do what I could to help. To date, GIA has reached an audience of over 10,000+ young women between our webinars, conferences, and social media campaigns. For the first several months of GIA, I led it completely independently, and continue to be the sole overarching supervisor. We don't have any fulltime staff positions but rotate our "CORE Team" (executive board) every quarter to give as many people as possible the chance to serve with GIA. To date, GIA has launched several large programs. First, we have an international digital magazine being published on 31 December of this year.

I led and reached out to a team of over 15 people worldwide to collaborate with on this publication. It features interviews with female pioneers, aerospace opportunities, and articles about the importance of STEM education. Second, we regularly organize webinars (free and open to anyone) with aerospace professionals. By doing this, the goal is to form role models for youth and "de-mystify" aerospace careers. By showing young women people who look like them in their dream careers, it becomes more attainable and motivating for them. I spend 3-6 hours a week solely reaching out to and following up with potential presenters, organizing events, creating signups, and communicating information. Our upcoming webinars include an interview with Lauren Killam, a space law communicator, and an aerospace engineering student at the University of Bristol. Third, starting with the 2021-2022 school year, we are partnering with over a dozen schools in the US and Poland to provide a free curriculum for an aerospace-themed school club. Because our main mission is giving everyone access to aerospace education and opportunities, giving high schoolers in underprivileged communities the chance to attend aerospace education meetings will hopefully foster an interest in the field.

This curriculum is already complete and club leaders are reaching out to us and being contacted. Fourth, we have constructed a database of over 120 aerospace resources for all ages, including online courses, simulators, activities, camps, classes, and physical settings. This resource database aims to enable students to learn about the subject without ever leaving their house. The database is scheduled for release in March 2020 and will be available to anyone on the internet via our website. More than anything, I owe GIA's success to YOU, our members. Everything we've been able to accomplish has been thanks to your dedication and support. Thank you for sticking with us - I can't wait to see what we can accomplish in the coming year.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CAMPAIGNS #We are GIA GIA's social media campaigns aim to share the idea that aerospace is for everyone. Our main campaign this year, #WeAreGIA, highlighted the cases of the women in aerospace living among us.

DANA ROZIER CIVILIAN PILOT

SHAWNICE MILITARY PILOT, US NAVY

JENNY MA AVIATION YOUTUBER

SEE THE NEWEST CAMPAIGN NEWS ON

OUR LINKTREE

FROM the readers Who is the most inspiring woman in aerospace or STEM to you?

Tahani Amer is an American Muslim NASA employee who grew up in Cairo, Egypt. I am deeply inspired by her because she moved to the US at the age of 17 without knowing any English but through hard work, she was able to become an engineer. Math was her favorite subject and she was able to excel in calculus and move forward with it. She has helped NASA in many ways such as conducting pressure and thermal sensitive paint experiments in support of the NASA’s aeronautical research efforts inside wind tunnels. Amer then invented and patented a system to measure the thermal conductivity of a thin film. Tahani Amer stated that she believes NASA is a soft ‘pillow’ that allows you to dream of the impossible and then work hard to make it a reality. She worked hard and therefore inspires me to do so. Maahnum Zaheer WA, USA

Future Bontle, because she's going to be the change that she needed to witness while growing up. She's going to change the course of history. Bontle Molefe NB South Africa

What fueled your passion for STEM?

I have always been curious and some might say annoying with my questions of: "But why?" or "But how does this do that?" and my Papa, who was a real inspiration of mine, was an Electrician and so when I would visit – which would be quite a lot as I was so excited to discuss the week I had at school – we would talk about what I had learned or work on projects together. My papa came from a time where it was not the norm for women to be in STEM fields particularly engineering but never once did he tell me I should reconsider and in fact encouraged me to be the best version of myself and so I threw myself into everything I could and am now on my way to my dream career in Aviation! Toni McLaughlin Scotland

It came from wanting to understand the world. I have always thought that science and how everything worked so perfectly was one of the coolest things. Now that I’m in college that passion has not changed, in fact it has grown! Alex Allred Arizona

What is your dream career and why?

My dream career is a career that provides happiness and fulfillment in all I am doing. I want to be able to travel the world and implement new STEM theories, principles, and developments in places in need. I want to have a platform large enough to share my knowledge with others and uplift and empower them. My dream career is not a specific job. For me, it doesn't matter what I'm doing. What is important is the "why" behind what I do. I want a career that allows me to help people, introduce more sustainable resources and energy into the earth, and educate people on the world of STEM. If I can change the world in any way, big or small, then I will have reached my dream. Kamalen Santos Texas

My ultimate dream is to become an astronaut. I think it would be so amazing being a part of the greatest adventure of our lifetime, which is space exploration. I have always been interested in loads of different things, and am a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I wouldn't mind being launched into space on a rocket and then spending time either doing experiments in zero-g or exploring the Moon or Mars! At the very least, I would love to be an aerospace engineer, helping to make all of this happen. Christina MacLeod Vancouver, CA

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

What is your personal experience as a woman in STEM?

I am a 22-year-old college student studying civil engineering in the vast state known as Texas. Not only am I a woman, but I am a woman of color, as I am from a small island called Guam. Being a double minority makes me significantly underrepresented in STEM. Because of this, I made it my mission to successfully pursue my passion and become a civil and environmental engineer. I've experienced so many things as a woman, such as being the only girl in a class full of men who often don't give you the chance to share your thoughts. I've helped mentor students at a STEM summer outreach program called "Joint Science and Technology Institute" where I tried to make STEM look appealing. I manage a blog called "Diary of an Engineer" where I relay my personal experiences as a woman in STEM and share my everyday thoughts. My overall goal for women in STEM is to be a strong advocate who always uplifts other women and never competes, and a positive role model for those young girls who come after me. Kamalen Santos Texas

Growing up in under-resourced schools, I never had much exposure to STEM until I myself began immersing myself in different activities, classes, and events to be able to have some knowledge of STEM careers. Now I am planning on pursuing a STEM major in college. Kathalinne Gonzalez California

AEROSPACE PODCASTS SPACEPOD

to listen to

In Spacepod, Carrie Nugent meets with varying space professionals and shares a drink with them while they discuss what they have discovered in their field of study.

listentospacepod.com

STARTALK

startalkradio.net

In StarTalk, Neil deGrasse Tyson aims to explain astrophysics and space concepts in a simple and easy way, and to promote space interest in the general public. 19

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

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AIR FORCE ONE (1997) TOP GUN (1986) WAR GAMES (1983) TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH (1949) WINGS (1927) MEMPHIS BELLE (1990)

AEROSPACE MOVIES

to watch

do feminism and self-love relate?

DE FINING F EMINISM by Victoria Gonzalez

"What's with all the feminism propaganda all of a sudden?" That's what I found in my DMs a couple of weeks after I decided it was time to start speaking up and giving people a piece of my mind. Honestly, though, it was a fair question. Although I had been, by no means, spreading "propaganda", I could understand the confusion as to why I had begun to call myself a feminist. Feminism wasn't something I had really given much thought to until just recently. I had always kind of just gone along with what everyone else was doing without ever giving it a second thought. Then, last year, something pretty crazy happened. I realized I was the only one who could create something better for myself. It doesn't seem like a huge revelation, does it? It seems like it should be painstakingly obvious. It wasn't for me, though, and I've come to realize that there are many others for whom it isn't obvious to either.

Self-care has become such a big thing today because self-love isn't an easy goal to achieve."Stay true to yourself." "You are whom you surround yourself with." "No one can make yourself feel bad without your consent." Are sayings that most of us have heard echoed to us time and time again. However, there is a difference between knowing and truly understanding. This discrepancy is a result of the fact that we are so often being pressured to choose a certain thing, behave a certain way, talk like this, dress like that, etc. I've experienced this, but like many, had never realized. Just like systemic racism, sexism is sadly another bias that has been ingrained in our society. Before we're even born, at our baby shower, pink is for girls and blue is for boys. Then as children, dolls are for girls and cars are for boys. As teenagers, makeup is for girls and muscles are a guy thing.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

Then as adults, women should cook and clean, while men work to provide for their family. Yes, we've made a lot of progress in breaking down these misogynistic views and barriers, but we still have a long way to go, especially in third-world countries. I had always been pretty dependent on others. As a little girl, I had an imaginary boyfriend (I wanted to be like the Disney princesses); my first "boyfriend" was in sixth grade; in middle school alone, I dated nine people; and my first REAL relationship took me a year and ten months to get over. It was that last one that made me realize I didn't love myself all that much. The reason it took me so long to get over him was that I loved him more than I loved myself. I thought I always had to know someone or have someone before I could actually be someone. I know it might sound obvious that this was not true but, for me, this was one of those things where there was a difference between knowing and understanding. I made a lot of mistakes and even if no one had been judging me for them, they didn't need to. I was hard enough on myself. I would slut-shame myself unconsciously for a lot of things that weren't my fault. Once I was able to accept and reflect on the fact that the way in which I thought of myself was wrong (even if I didn't believe it at the time), I started slowly cutting off toxic people and trying to figure out who the real ones were. Most of the people whom I had become "friends" with since that breakup were not only toxic,

but temporary as well...and I had become not much more than an extension of them. This was painful to realize, but I empowered myself with affirmations like: "Stop looking for your other half. You are not a half." "My body, my choice." "All sizes are beautiful." "I don't belong to anyone but myself." "Don't be limited by other people's limited imaginations." These helped me realize my self-worth and the power I had. This helped me see that in reality, my "loss" was really a gain. I hadn't lost anything except those who never deserved me in the first place. What does any of this have to do with feminism? Feminism is the very embodiment of all these values. Feminism isn't just about equality. It's about helping women keep up the courage to fight through barriers. It's about teaching our society that the social norms we perpetrate are not okay and we need to do better. It's about standing up against oppression and misogyny. But most of all, it's about showing women how to hold onto the ability to love and respect themselves for who they are. Not what society tells them they need to be.

by Victoria Gonzalez Los Angeles, CA, USA

the importance of

FE MA L E EDUC A TIO N by Risha Chaurasia

Throughout world history, great women have stood up and raised their voices for female education. Be it a young teenager from the Swat Valley to a Maharashtrian poet and social reformer. Both Malala and Savitribai Phule are pioneers in the field of female education and shed a bright light on the importance of this issue. In this article, I delve into the importance of female education and why it frames the future of the world. We all want to be citizens of a happy, discrimination-free, and healthy society, and female education is the way forward with that. Education gives a woman newfound confidence, knowledge, and life skills, which are essential in building a better and happier society. Education helps women recognize their rights, thus decreasing suppression and crimes against them. It enables them to break free of the societal norms and soar high! It helps her be a better citizen, human, parent as a whole and provides a massive contribution to the development of society. Education also enables a woman to make wiser decisions and build for herself a wonderful life. Reports show that educated women marry late and also have fewer children.

Just an extra year of schooling reduces fertility rates by over 10%! Also, kids of literate women are prime to survive and lead happy lives. For example, in India, mortality rates of children of women with even primary education are less than half of illiterate women. Education also helps a woman be financially stable and stand on her own two feet. Research shows that an additional year of education can increase a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earning by 15. All in all, education equips a woman to lead a successful life and must be encouraged! "EDUCATE A GIRL, AND SHE WILL CHANGE THE WORLD!"

Risha Chaurasia is a teen author from India. At age 13, she has written 2 books. The first one is called Tales of Twinkling Tweens and the second is to come out in 2021. She also has a blog on instagram called straight.from.my.pen. She is an 8th grader in Daly College and her hobbies include reading and writing.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

female education

ST A T IS TIC S there are

796 million illiterate people in the world, of which

2/3 are women

rural girls are

TWICE AS LIKELY as urban girls to be out of schools, especially in third world countries.

for every additional year of primary school that a woman attends, it increases her eventual wages by around

based on data from

10-20%

countries, a woman's education is shown to be the #1 factor in her children's survival and well-being.

ROCKET

LAUNCHES

SpaceX's 2020 launches

STARLINK SpaceX's Starlink program began in 2015 with the goal of providing reliable satellite Internet. Because Starlink will use thousands of satellites to operate, regular launches are required to quickly complete the network. Photo courtesy of SpaceX

Photo courtesy of SpaceX

CREW-1 The world celebrated the first operational launch of SpaceX's crew Dragon capsule on 16 Nov 2020, when four astronauts were lifted to the ISS via the Falcon 9 rocket.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

GAL-CLUS-022058s, a "Molten Ring"

A "Stellar Nursery", also known as a frEGG

NGC 2770, a galaxy photographed by Hubble

A Herbig-Haro object located in the Milky Way

HUBBLE

IMAGES All photos and information courtesy of NASA.

racism in the

FE MINIS T MOV EM E N T by Sophie Chang Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott - you’ve probably heard of all these names, as these women were well-known suffragettes who helped pave the way for women’s rights in the US. Next, listen to these names: Mary Church Terrell, Charlotte Forten Grimke, Mabel Lee -how many women do you know here? Probably not that many. There isn’t much of a difference between these women: all of them were suffragettes, all of them faced many challenges and obstacles, and all of them accomplished amazing things. But one thing sets the first three women apart from the second three: their skin color. The first set were all white while the second set were all women of color. Yet, as you’ve probably noticed, most of us have only heard of the first three women. But why aren’t we learning about the second three? Why do most of us only know of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott, yet Mary Church Terrell, Charlotte Forten Grimke, and Mabel Lee ring no bells? To answer this question, let’s start with some history. The feminist movement in the United States started in 1848, at the Seneca Falls Convention.

There, suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton created the first draft of the Declaration of Sentiments, a document that stated the movement’s values and goals, as well as its strategies for achieving women’s voting rights. The document was mocked and ridiculed by the press who deemed it ludicrous and useless. The suffragettes still persevered, and eventually, the idea of women’s rights became prominent and widespread throughout all of America. Ultimately, this perseverance led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920, which gave women the right to vote. Although the feminist movement created much change and influenced many lives, it also came at a cost, with much of its history having to do with pushing down people of color in order to help white women advance their rights. For example, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony famously opposed the 15th Amendment, declaring that it was wrong for Black men to receive the right to vote before women.

Thanks to the ongoing debate of African American rights vs. women’s rights, many Black suffragettes were pushed out of the movement as white suffragette leaders wanted to make it clear that they were only protesting for women’s rights. Thus, many of the amazing things that suffragettes who were also women of color accomplished ended up being overshadowed by the achievements of white suffragettes. Even today, the effects of racism in the feminist movement can still be seen. When talking with nonprofit founders Zaniya Lewis (YesSheCanCampaign) and Snehaa Kumar (Queen Bee Project) they highlighted that these effects are extremely prevalent. Despite the fact that only one had faced discrimination within the feminist movement, they both agreed that their problems as women of color were definitely overlooked, with Kumar stating, “the different experiences of women of color are (often unintentionally, but harmful all the same) suppressed because they are seen as not applicable to large groups of people.” So what can you do to help fix these problems? The first step is educating yourself. Advocacy and change start with learning about issues and their backgrounds, and by researching feminists of color and their struggles, you’ll be able to have a better understanding of many of the racial issues in feminism today.

After educating yourself, move onto step two: educating others. This doesn’t have to be a big thing; it could be as small as having a discussion with your friends on Mary Terrell being the first African American to be admitted to the American Association of University Women or doing a presentation on Mabel Lee’s activism for Asian women’s voting rights. And finally, step three: creating change. This step involves doing anything you can do to help bring colored feminists into the spotlight. It can be whatever you want it to be, from joining a feminist organization led by colored women to “funding black-businesses and woman of color businesses,” as Ms. Lewis suggested. All that matters is that in the end, people know not only Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but they also speak the names of Mary Church Terrell, Charlotte Forten Grimke, and Mabel Lee as it’s our job to carry on their legacies and stand united together because feminism knows no color.

by Sophie Chang Chesterfield, MO, USA

INTERVIEW Founder of Women's Republic online magazine

SAI SAILAJA SESHADRI

What was your inspiration, drive, or purpose behind founding Women’s Republic?

For me, I think one of the most important things in the world is that women deserve a platform. We see so many women around the world who aren’t allowed to have a voice, for a variety of reasons. I’ve always been privileged in the sense that I’ve been able to speak up for the things I believe in and I’ve had a platform. I wanted to be able to give the same to others. Writing has always been my form of expression, and I hoped that by giving women space where they can write to uplift their voices, we can make a difference.

Visit Women's Republic at www.womensrepublic.net! 29

Did you encounter any difficulties throughout the process? What did the experience teach you?

It’s not easy. Even today, I still struggle with a ton of things: there’s a lot of work involved in maintaining a website, it’s time-consuming, it’s expensive, and so on. But the thing that it has taught me is that anything is possible when you have a support system. I’ve had family and friends who were supportive from the start and even people off social media who have always been willing to help and promote our site. On top of that, I’m grateful for the writers on the team - we’ve dealt with a lot of technical difficulties and things can often be slow, but they are so understanding and caring and help out.

What do you wish you could tell the world about female education?

I wish I could emphasize to the world that education should not be a privilege, but a basic human right. So many young girls around the world are never given an education in their lives and as a result, they’re left powerless and reliant on someone else. Allow them to have that education, to learn and go out in the world, and I promise this planet will become a better place.

To date, Women’s Republic has nine categories with hundreds of articles each. Do you have a favorite article or topic?

That’s a tough one! They’re all such important categories, but I think if I had to choose one, I would go with the sex-ed category and any articles that have to do with sexual education or embracing sexuality. There is so much stigma around openly talking about sex, and I think girls and women around the world are so negatively impacted by that. Not only does it impact the way they see themselves and the concept of sex, but it also means they’ve often left without proper education on how to stay safe, what consent means, etc. and I hope that by talking about these things on our website, we can empower people to be open about it and to go out and learn more on their own.

TOPICS

AT WOMEN'S REPUBLIC: FEMINISM SEX-ED MENTAL HEALTH 31

POLITICS HEALTH REGIONAL

ARTS

ENTERTAINMENT

LGBTQ+

Is there a person, living or deceased, who you wish could write an article for Women's Republic?

While it’s tempting to say a celebrity or a known feminist in history, the person I really wish I could have featured on Women’s Republic is my grandmother. She passed away earlier this year, and I really regret not having her write a piece while she was around. She was my role model and one of my icons in my life. She saw more hardships throughout her life than anyone else I know, from being a victim of child marriage to abuse to poverty to not being given an education but fighting for it later on it her life and going back to school to support herself and her family. I really miss her and I know our website would’ve gained a lot from her experience and perspective, but I hope that at least one day, I can write about her story and do it some justice.

SAI SAILAJA SESHADRI Political Science student at Arizona State University. Enjoys mac n cheese, binge-watching Netflix and feminist rants.

INTERVIEW

FOUNDER OF

LAUREN BEAN BUITTA

What was your inspiration, drive, or purpose behind founding Girl Security?

I was a girl who became a woman with a series of interests that were either restricted to boys or dominated by men, national security being one of those interests. I was also born in the Midwest, in Illinois. As one of five kids and a firstgeneration college graduate, I had to work hard to seek out opportunities to engage in national security and related fields such as foreign policy or humanitarian issues. I wanted to build an organization that valued girls and women’s inherent capacity to lead in security. After all, girls secure themselves every single day. Too often, society fails to value girls and women’s security. In addition, I wanted to build an organization that applied a grassroots approach to an area of utmost importance. National security is a heightened political realm invested with tremendous power. National security decisions, including every war, climate change, the pandemic, immigration, and cybersecurity, shape America, define who wields power, and determine the world order, yet women remain grossly underrepresented. Girl Security envisions a world where girls are more civically empowered in national security across their communities and a future where women lead as national security decision makers.

What advice would you give for young girls getting into security? What do you wish you could tell yourself when you first discovered your passion for security?

As a girl, I never felt as though I had certain strengths. I had to work hard at most things. Turns out, the one skill I almost unconsciously exercised for much of my childhood and adulthood was actually my most valuable skill: listening. My advice would be to accept that our strengths may appear when we least expect it, and thus, to be more forgiving of oneself. Expectations can be a wonderful motivator, but they can also be a burden at times, especially during times of hardship and vulnerability. Everyone has a strength or many strengths, but sometimes we just have to wait for life to present the opportunity to draw them out.

What do you wish everyone in the world knew about national security?

I wish everyone knew that national security decisions affect everyone, on the one hand, but also that national security decision making has been the purview of a few for too long. There is tremendous power and money directed to national security efforts. Girls can engage locally, civically in national security decision making. IN addition, girls are really good at security. We just need to get out of their way. In addition, I wish everyone knew that national security, like STEM, offers many career pathways, and some really cool ones in cyber, space, law, policy, academic, health, and even retail!

You wrote an article with Camille Stewart about the importance of diversity in the security field - how does Girl Security attempt to approach this issue?

Diversity in national security is a moral imperative. Lack of diversity not only fails to reflect the ideals of our democracy, but it also impedes our ability to move toward a more perfect union, to innovate, and to meet the demands of a much different future. At Girl Security, we advance a more intersectional approach to security by prioritizing a discussion about how race, gender and identity shape understandings of national security, and then, identifying how policies, processes, and systems must evolve to reflect those lived experiences. Secondly, we integrate the viewpoints of girls from diverse backgrounds in every aspect of our programming to provide a platform for girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; unique perspectives on security, especially for girls of color and non-binary participants. We believe that girls, communities, and our nation can benefit from sharing those experiences. Lastly, we have crucial conversations about the adverse impacts of social injustices on our national security. As a nation, how can we advance certain ideals abroad - equality, liberty, freedom - when our own citizens are deprived of those same ideals? Most importantly, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tell girls what to think. We provide them with context, frameworks, training and support to inform their thinking on these important issues.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

Where do you see Girl Security going in the next few years? Do you have any ambitious goals or missions?

Girl Security’s vision is to be the definitive organization closing the gender gap in national security and a trusted resource for girls interested in national security. In achieving that vision, we seek to empower girls to rewrite the national security narrative. Operationally, we’re expanding our services to support girls, schools, and communities across the United States and globally. Our first-year mentees from 2016 are now graduating college. We’re gathering important and needed insight into the various impediments and challenges to girls’ and women’s engagement and retention in national security. These insights will enable us to shape even more transformative programming for girls across the country. Ultimately, we want every girl to feel confident sitting at the dinner table or over social media to engage in national security discourse AND to see herself as a future leader in national security’s many pathways.

Visit Girl Security at www.girlsecurity.org!

GETTING INVOLVED

with GIA

CHECK OUT OUR LINKTREE We post regular links and updates on our Linktree, which can be found at www.linktr.ee/girlsinaerospace. Find links to aerospace resources, articles, and GIA Staff applications and webinar signups here!

FOLLOW OUR SOCIALS Our socials (all listed at the beginning of this magazine) are the place to find our campaigns and contact us. We're open to partnering for Instagram takeovers or social events.

ÂŠ 2020 by Girls in Aerospace | GIA Mag Issue I

JOIN AS A MEMBER To join GIA, go to www.girlsinaerospace.org/join. You'll also have the opportunity to join as a contributor or staff member. By joining as a member, you'll also be subscribed to our monthly newsletter.

PARTNER WITH US To partner with the foundation or present a webinar, please shoot us an email at girlsinaerospace@gmail.com. If you have suggestions about programs, webinars, or events, we'd love to hear them!

GIA Magazine Issue I

Articles inside

Interview with Founder of Girl Security

Interview with the Founder of Women's Republic

Racism in the Feminist Movement

The Importance of Female Education

Do Feminism and Self-Love Relate?