To Get Her There: Getting Girls and Young Women Excited About STEM

Girl Scouts of Central Texas firmly believes and encourages the advancement of young women and one of the ways we are accomplishing this is by introducing girls to the wondrous world of STEM. In today’s job market 20% of jobs require STEM related knowledge and that number will only grow with the innovation of technology. However, women and minorities are severely underrepresented in this field. That leads us to question why women are not as integrated as men in the STEM world. Dr. Laurie H. Glimercher, Dean of the Weill Cornell Medical College, believes that this is happening because women are lacking the proper mentoring from professionals in the STEM field. This lack of exposure is a guaranteed factor in the lack of interest in this field.  Not many could be curious about something they know nothing about.  She calls on scientists to show what science truly is rather than what society presents it to be. Not all scientists are Albert Einstein look-a-likes.

            
               Some of what deters women and minorities from the STEM field is that they are not fully aware what it is. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. So, everyone from your dental hygienist to the person drilling for oil has been trained in the STEM field. That is including a ton of people and only 25% of those people are women.  That number is one that GSCTX is dedicated to growing.  In the coming years, Latinos will be a big part of the workforce; being in Texas we are poised to be part of that boom. First we need to get minorities excited about STEM related subjects.

                At GSCTX we are determined to get our girls excited and interested in STEM, so much that we offer all kinds of programs that give girls full exposure to a wide variety of STEM subjects. We will continue to work tirelessly to get these girls and minorities into those jobs. However, we cannot do any of this without your support.  If you work in a STEM related field, volunteer! Introduce a girl to the world of STEM, motivate her to not be intimidated by it and what it can do for them. Any way we can mentor and inspire our girls is a step in the right direction.