There were several issues that the authors came across in this project that, while not within the strict scope of the grant, bear some discussion here and are set forth below. Whenever representatives discussed the need for mathematics skills, they always emphasized the importance of computer skills as well. However, they regarded the graphing calculator with bemusement if at all. On the job, whatever cannot be done with a scientific calculator is done with computer software. Although a convenient tool for the classroom teacher and a subject of some controversy as to its proper use, the graphing calculator is viewed by people in the industries as a non-essential tool.
Many people still think of industry and technology as a man s game.
This is not so. Every woman interviewed stated that she was either glad that she took four years of mathematics in high school or that she was sorry that she did not. There are job opportunities for women in all of the industries surveyed in this project. The authors even spoke to a woman who operates heavy machinery for road paving, and she expressed a great deal of job satisfaction. All of the women interviewed told the authors to encourage young women to take every mathematics course possible.