{"id":636,"date":"2019-03-08T09:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-08T17:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/03\/08\/ways-to-encourage-girls-to-keep-pursuing-stem-this-womens-history-month\/"},"modified":"2024-05-30T14:40:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T21:40:10","slug":"ways-to-encourage-girls-to-keep-pursuing-stem-this-womens-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2019\/03\/ways-to-encourage-girls-to-keep-pursuing-stem-this-womens-history-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to encourage girls to keep pursuing STEM this Women\u2019s History Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2018, we conducted a study in collaboration with Dr. Shalini Kesar called Closing the STEM Gap<\/a><\/em><\/strong>. <\/em>Our findings revealed that 31 percent of girls believe that jobs requiring coding and programming are \u201cnot for them.\u201d In high school, that number jumps up to 40 percent. And by the time they\u2019re in college, 58 percent of girls count themselves out of these jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also discovered that girls who know a woman in a STEM profession are substantially more likely to feel empowered when they engage in STEM activities (61 percent) than those who don\u2019t know a woman in a STEM profession (44 percent). Unfortunately, most girls don\u2019t have any female role models in STEM to look up to. So it\u2019s no surprise that, when asked to describe a typical scientist, engineer, mathematician, or computer programmer, 30 percent of girls say that they envision a man in these roles. As do almost 40 percent of adult women\u2014and 43 percent of women in STEM and tech fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may be asking: How do we reverse these trends? One of the most important first steps is introducing girls and young women to positive female role models in STEM fields. But it doesn\u2019t end there. An even bigger impact is possible when those women offer encouragement<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Enter: Microsoft EDU\u2019s WomEncouragement Series. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In honor of Women\u2019s History Month and International Women\u2019s Day, we\u2019ve created a series of downloadable posters featuring advice and encouragement from women who are paving the way in STEM and opening doors for future generations of girls to step through and succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These are free to download and print<\/a><\/strong> so young women and girls can hang them up in their rooms, in their lockers, on their mirrors, or in their classrooms \u2014 anywhere they need a dose of positive inspiration!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we couldn\u2019t pull off this project without our education community! We\u2019d love to hear from you, too. Send us your own words of encouragement<\/a><\/strong> and we might turn them into a poster or share them on our social channels!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology jobs are among the fastest growing in the country, but only 24 percent of computer scientists are women. As educators, when we encourage girls to pursue STEM, we double the potential to change the world for the better and help ensure ALL young people are future ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are YOU ready to help make a difference?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other resources you can use to help close the gap or inspire girls, and all students, to love STEM:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n