Supporting Girls in STEM Fields

Picture: Charles Waltner https://boomi.com/blog/gett-expo-2017/ 

Wonder What You Can Do to Support Girls in STEM? 

Whether you are a student, educator, or parent; there are many ways that you can support girls and women in STEM. Encouraging young women, particularly in middle school and high school, to become involved in collaborative science gives them the opportunity to have an interest in science and other STEM fields. I have laid out a few ways to support girls in STEM fields that I have observed through my experiences.

Encourage Girls to be Curious and Innovative

Curiosity begins at a young age. Young children are always curious about why things are the way that they are. Using this curiosity to encourage children to think scientifically at a young age can guide their future school career that will get them acquainted with thinking scientifically before it is needed in a classroom. While they are young, allowing girls to be curious about the world around them and guiding them through projects and activities can help them begin to look at the world in a different way. This encouragement should be continued along their schooling in K-12 programs. Purchasing STEM-related toys and projects for girls at a young age will peak their interest in STEM-related fields later on.

Express Your Support for Women in STEM

Becoming familiar with monumental women in STEM allows young girls to see role models in their fields of interest. This means that young girls will be able to see themselves doing these jobs if they see women doing them as well.

Support Collaborative Programs in K-12

The best part about science is getting involved with experiments and hands-on activities. Unfortunately, when I went through my middle and high school years there were not a lot of hands-on labs or activities that would have gotten the interest of more of my female peers. Classes like english and history were collaborative, with regular projects and papers that we were expected to work on with our classmates. The feeling of accomplishment when these projects and papers were done with a good grade or positive feedback peaked my interest in the subject even more. Having more collaborative programs and projects for middle and high school students will give them more exposure to the field than sitting in a classroom might do. 

Share Your Experience! 

If you are a woman in STEM, share your experiences and ideas! Community out reach programs that involved college students and STEM-related activities show young students that what you do if fun and cool! Don't be afraid to ask around to see what outreach programs are available in your community or through your school.

Thanks for reading!

Abbie