First of all, to all women engineers, congratulations.

I don’t congratulate you for graduating, for making six-digit figures, for getting straight A’s, or for being admitted to college. I commend you on knowingly choosing a field that you would be in a minority in, for not letting the gender gap intimidate you. I congratulate you on picking engineering, knowing full well that would have to deal with sexist professors, recruiters, and classmates who would judge you and underestimate you.

However, fixing the gender gap won’t be easy. All of us have a lot of work to do.

We must start with the most basic question, which is this: Why are women seen as less inclined towards math and science? Why is it that 66% of young girls are interested in STEM, but only 18% go on to pursue engineering as a career path?

From the time we’re young, we have been told that we can be anything we want to be. However, the persuasion to push girls away from STEM fields manifests itself in subtle gestures and motions. It can be anything as little as mentioning that engineers need to be physically strong, but women are less physically able than men. It can be signing your son up for a science fair, but bypassing your daughter for the opportunity. It can even manifest in statements as casual as “You run like a girl!” or “Hand the hammer to your brother, sweetie.”

If you are under the impression that girls are not encouraged to pursue engineering or any other STEM field, you are absolutely right.

The gender gap in technology is staggering. In my roommate’s high school advanced Computer Science class, the gender ratio of males to females was approximately 4:1. Engineering classrooms are undoubtedly dominated by males, which only perpetuates the growth of the gender gap, as girls become more and more discouraged by the prospect of classes with few to none female classmates.

The question that plagues us is no longer why this gender gap exists. The main question now is how do we fix it?

You may note that multiple programs exist across the nation, including Girls Who Code, DigiGirlz, Enhancing Engineering Pathways at Northern Illinois University, the Society of Women Engineers, the Academy at Rutgers for Girls in Engineering and Technology, among many others, that seek to inspire and motivate young women to pursue STEM. However, we must not only acknowledge that these amazing and progressive programs exist, but we must encourage our STEM-inclined daughters, sisters, and friends to join them.

However, we can start disrupting internalized sexism at a much more micro level.

Do not tell young girls that their science experiments are “messy,” but instead gladly provide them with the baking soda and vinegar they will need. Explain to them how your car works, why the sky is blue, why food tastes sour when you’re sick, and what all the buttons on a computer do. Let them take apart a clock and study the gears, and answer their questions with follow-up questions. Tell them the stories of Kalpana Chawla, Sheila Widnall, Grace Hopper, and Mae Jemison.

Never tell them that “Curiosity killed the cat.” Tell them that the curious cat was the only one who had truly lived. Do not curb their imagination; nourish it and foster it, and let their creativity grow uncontrollably.

Do not tell girls that they are pretty, not because they are not, but because they are far more complex than their physical appearances. Remind them that they are brilliant, that their minds are as beautiful as they are. Remind them of their intelligence, their kindness, their creativity, their beauty, and their strength.

Tell them they can be engineers or doctors or designers or programmers or anything their hearts desire, because passion will lead them to success.

Remind them that they were all born goddesses and queens. Remind them that they are women, that their femininity is not their downfall, but the source of their power.

We will never stop with these gentle reminders and encouragements. We will not stop until we have produced the most vibrant, brilliant, and confident generation of women yet.

We will not stop until this gender gap has been abolished forever.