'Pink girly toys don't deter women from engineering'

Parents were warned against buying pink, gender-stereotyped Christmas presents for girls by the Institution of Engineering and Technology last month. It claimed such toys could deter girls from getting into science-based careers.

But a number of women who work in that field contacted the BBC's Family and Education News Facebook Page to say they disagree.

We went to meet Jade Leonard, a 30-year-old welding engineer for Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.

She told us: "Growing up I adored my Barbies, my dolls, dressing up, make up and all things girly. None of this influenced my decision to get a maths degree or my BEng.

"Love, encouragement and reassurance of what I was good at from my parents, sister and school teachers did. This gave me the confidence to go for what I wanted to do, whether I liked the colour pink or not!"

Join the conversation - find us on Facebook