NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

March is Women's History month and NASA Langley has many accomplished women to celebrate.

Image Right: Debbie Martinez is project chief engineer in the Space Operations Program Office. Credit: Sean Smith/NASA.

To bring some of NASA Langley's women's accomplishments to light, Debbie Martinez started a website called, " Women of NASA LaRC," which features female civil servants that work in diverse fields at NASA who have succeeded and continue to thrive in math, science, and technology careers. The Women of NASA (WON) LaRC Site will be celebrating its tenth anniversary in April.

Latina WON (http://latinawomen.nasa.gov/hep/lwon/), also started by Martinez, celebrated its sixth anniversary in February; it features Latina women for all of NASA centers.

Martinez is a computer engineer and is detailed to the Space Operations Program Office as project chief engineer. Since 1996, Martinez has been serving as the NASA Langley's Hispanic Advisory Group chair (selected by the director of the NASA Langley Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, OEOP) and the webmaster for the NASA Langley Hispanic Employment Program (HEP) website.

"Looking back I can not really say I was ever told I should not go into the science or engineering fields but then again I was never really encouraged either -- except for my mom. She wanted me to become a doctor, although she is quite proud of me being a NASA engineer. Being a female in a male dominated field has become second nature to me. I attribute this to my days in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where most often I was one of the few, sometimes the only, woman in my classes. Fortunately, more and more women are entering fields that once where filled by men only and that’s great!" Martinez explained "However, I realize that many women do encounter bias in the workplace and have difficulties dealing with their male colleagues. That realization led to my support of the Federal Women’s Program and NASA Educational Outreach programs."

The Women of NASA interactive project, initiated by NASA Ames, supported this movement by providing as role models outstanding women working in diverse fields at NASA who have succeeded and continue to thrive in math, science and technology careers. Their two major goals were to: 1) provide as role models women who have succeeded and continue to thrive in a high-tech environment, and 2) provide a resource where teachers have access to information on gender equity in the classroom and materials that provide insight on reducing inequities especially in math and science.

The Women Of NASA LaRC web site allows young girls to learn about women who are succeeding in careers generally dominated by men such as science and math-based fields. Through their contact with these women, young girls and women receive much needed confirmation that society's pressures are real and that the decisions they are forced to make are indeed confusing and difficult. At the same time, these women provide assurance that these obstacles are conquerable. They also are able to give the young girls and women an idea of how their decisions today affect their tomorrow as they provide a link between school and the real world.

By visiting the site, you can view information about WON LaRC and Latina WON, along with visiting the profiles of NASA Langley's women who are making history on Center.

Please visit WON LaRC at http://oeop.larc.nasa.gov/fwp/won/.

NASA Civil Servants interested in participating as a virtual mentor on WON LaRC web site should contact Debbie.Martinez@NASA.gov.

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The Researcher News
By: Denise Adams & Debbie Martinez
Langley Research Center
Managing Editor and Responsible NASA Official: H. Keith Henry
Editor and Curator: Denise Adams