On International Women in Engineering Day, a new, multi-sector coalition composed of leading organizations dedicated to creating opportunities for young girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has founded #GirlsLeadSTEM and declared October 2022 as the inaugural #GirlsLeadSTEM month. The founding coalition is composed of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Intel Corporation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, National Girls Collaborative Project, STEM Next Opportunity Fund and Techbridge Girls.
While women have made gains in STEM career fields, persistent gaps remain- particularly in engineering and a variety of science fields. Currently, women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce of 58.9 million workers, but represent only 30 percent of the professionals in science and engineering jobs. Black and Hispanic women each make up only two percent and Indigenous women only one percent.
#GirlsLeadSTEM represents a collective, multi-sector effort to address these persistent disparities. #GirlsLeadSTEM will tap our most valuable stakeholders – the girls themselves – who will illuminate what’s still needed to ensure persistence in their STEM journey. This national effort will elevate the voices of young women and girls in STEM to transform the overused narratives in the space and celebrate the girls who lead their own STEM journeys, in their own voices, with their own communities and on their own terms.
The founding #GirlsLeadSTEM coalition firmly believes girls can and should lead in STEM. This coalition seeks to rally cross-sector commitments from like-minded organizations dedicated to empowering girls to lead with their voices, to advocate for themselves and to help all girls see themselves as the future of STEM.
Source: Businesswire
