Did you know that at the present time, 51% of our population is female? And did you know young girls' interest in careers depends heavily on their role models? Although these YouTube.com clips have been up for some time, they only recently came to my attention. It is worth every minute to watch both the short and longer versions!

• Miss Representation (the 2 minute version)
• Miss Representation (the 8 minute extended version with some famous powerful women)

After watching these, it made me wonder at the mixed message our youth are getting about who has power and who must submit. The affects of a mindset like that can have devastating results. I am all for promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) courses in our schools as EARLY as possible.

I am grateful to have had teachers who told me it was OK - as a girl - to be smart, OK - as a girl - to lead, OK - as a girl - to win in competitions with the guys. I hope our youth have similar teachers!

And ... I hope after watching these videos we all will be more aware. We can write letters, vote by withholding and spending our dollars accordingly. Most of all, we can open our eyes and refuse to allow media to strategically dictate our society's parameters to fit their own agendas.

Girls have the right to succeed in their chosen careers. Let's support them as they dive into STEM studies, politics and unconventional arenas.