I'm an astro grad student so this is all a lot more recent for me :-)
It sounds great to me - especially starting with showing them something very cool that they could end up doing. When I was at school, all I was told was that I had to do something "useful," and since I was good at math I was pushed into accountancy. It took me until my mid-20s to realise that was the wrong choice and go into physics. I don't believe anyone ever mentioned to me before that that academia was a valid career choice, so even making them aware it exists is a good step!
Re gender issues, I can't deny I've had prejudice (including, as an undergraduate, my lab instructor admitting when drunk that he'd marked me down my whole first year because he assumed I was getting the boys to do my work!). However, I've also found that being female opens doors - not in a discriminatory kind of way, just that it makes you stand out and helps people remember who you are, which is really important in science. So if you're talking about hurdles faced by women, I would be sure to mention that gender can work to their advantage as well - it's not all a horrible uphill struggle.
no subject
It sounds great to me - especially starting with showing them something very cool that they could end up doing. When I was at school, all I was told was that I had to do something "useful," and since I was good at math I was pushed into accountancy. It took me until my mid-20s to realise that was the wrong choice and go into physics. I don't believe anyone ever mentioned to me before that that academia was a valid career choice, so even making them aware it exists is a good step!
Re gender issues, I can't deny I've had prejudice (including, as an undergraduate, my lab instructor admitting when drunk that he'd marked me down my whole first year because he assumed I was getting the boys to do my work!). However, I've also found that being female opens doors - not in a discriminatory kind of way, just that it makes you stand out and helps people remember who you are, which is really important in science. So if you're talking about hurdles faced by women, I would be sure to mention that gender can work to their advantage as well - it's not all a horrible uphill struggle.