????Wakefield's cousin made engineering seem cool when she was young. As she grew older, though, her interests shifted. "Generally, guys in engineering are motivated by coolness. Women are motivated by their impact to help."
????Wakefield hit a point in her career when she felt apathetic about her work; she was building a graphic chip and hated that she was working her butt off to allow some kid to play Halo with better explosions. As the chip developed, though, the Mayo clinic got involved, adding a medical imaging component to the project. She had found a source of motivation.
????A personal story like Wakefield's can change a woman's view toward engineering. But there's always room for self-doubt along the way. The "Imposter Theory" or, as Wakefield defines it, the "I-hope-no-one-figures-out-I'm-not-as-good-as-they-think-I-am" theory, is a huge factor for women who change their college majors from engineering to other disciplines. "We need to help them gain confidence. They need to know that just because they didn't construct a floppy disk at age five doesn't mean they shouldn't be there."
????The noble-but-small initiatives like the kind that Intel has been promoting are obviously not enough. The complete solution remains elusive. Hawkins emphasizes that the industry is desperate for women. "How are we supposed to design products that appeal to women without women?" Good question.
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