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    According to the National Science Board, women make up half the workspace, but only 29% of the workers in the science and technology fields. In order to help combat this growing trend, I initiated a “Girl Powered STEM" program within our diocese called Girl Innovators.

The Why

    With the growing emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, its goal is to offer opportunities for young women to explore, develop, and thrive in these areas. Despite the numerous advancements made in education, we still see a gender gap in STEM-related fields. Research has shown that girls are just as capable as boys in STEM subjects, but they often lack the encouragement and support needed to pursue these careers. Our Girl Innovators program provides a supportive and empowering environment where female students feel inspired to explore their interests in STEM, receive mentorship, and gain confidence in their abilities.

Video courtesy of TedX Talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpnXjbfFt-g

The Inspiration

    This project is loosely based on the state program entitled GEMS (Girls Engaged in Math and Science) in Alabama public schools. The goal of this program is to offer a variety of engaging and hands-on faith-based experiences that allow girls to explore STEM concepts while promoting our faith and fostering creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership. 

The Plan

    Each school would be invited to create teams that can be grouped by age (Kindergarten - 2nd, 3rd-5th, etc.). Each team should have between 7-10 girls with one teacher/parent to help guide. Each group will be given age-appropriate challenges they would need to provide a solution for. Groups would only need to meet a few times a semester and could be before, after, or during school. Whatever works for each school system. The projects will be faith-based STEM opportunities. These include building a Noah’s Ark that can float while holding a certain number of plastic animals, building a bridge that can support the multitudes of loaves and fishes, creating a catapult to help David defeat Goliath, etc. Students will be given some parameters for the project, but creativity is key to Girl Innovators. 

The Culmination

    At the end of the semester, we will have a diocesan-wide expo at an elementary school one Saturday where the various groups would get to showcase their projects, listen to guest speakers in a STEM-related field, and complete fun breakout sessions with different STEM challenges to complete. When girls see successful women in various STEM fields, they are more likely to want to enter a STEM field as well! 


    The more we encourage girls to enter into the STEM fields, the more opportunities they are given to be successful engineers, scientists, computer programmers, doctors, web developers, the list goes on! 



References


McCrea, B. (2019, Apr. 3). Can mentorships get more girls into stem subjects? EdSurge. 

www.edsurge.com/news/2019-04-03-can-mentorships-get-more-girls-into-stem-subjects

Gasal, A. (2022, Dec. 16). Hiding in plain sight: Girls in STEM [Video]. TedX Talks. 

            YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpnXjbfFt-g

Girls Who Code. (2024). Breaking down barriers to AI and emergent technologies. Girls Who 

Code. https://girlswhocode.com/about-us/





 

Comments

  1. Meredith BarkerApril 29, 2025 at 8:50 AM

    Encouraging girls to engage in math and science is so important! In my school district we do GEMS (girls engaging in math and science). Fernandez et al. (2022) state, "studies have also shown that implementing practices that support a positive mathematical identity can lead to improved outcomes, participation, and persistence in mathematics" (para. Conclusion 1). This shows how imperative creating positive math experiences for girls are. I cannot wait to hear about how this goes at your school! It is amazing!

    References:
    Fernandez, F., Froschl, M., Lorenzetti, L., & Stimmer, M. (2022). Investigating the importance of girls’ mathematical identity within United States STEM programmes: a systematic review. International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology, 55(3), 650–690. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020739x.2021.2022229

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim BlackenburgApril 29, 2025 at 9:26 AM

    I teach in the same district as Meredith and lead a GEMS (Girls Engaged in Math and Science) group at my school. Encouraging girls to participate in STEM fields is extremely important. Creating a girl's only space to explore STEM topics and potential careers is so important. I have observed the faces of my girls light up when they hear from women in STEM careers. "Previous research indicates that although results vary, all-girl camps in STEM fields may positively affect the participating girls’ motivation, interest and sense of belonging, especially in technology and engineering" (Sultan, Axell & Hallstrom, 2023, p. 650). Representation is so important. "Learning environments that allow for rich educator' and student collaboration and communication may also include collaboration with subject matter experts, instructional support personnel, and peers" (Jones & Kennedy, 2023, p. 127).

    References:
    Jones, L. & Kennedy, E. (2023). Effective technology tools for school leadership: Understanding digital and data-driven strategies. Routledge.

    Sultan, U., Axell, C. & Hallström, J. Bringing girls and women into STEM?: Girls’ technological activities and conceptions when participating in an all-girl technology camp. Int J Technol Des Educ 34, 647–671 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-023-09831-z

    ReplyDelete

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