Educators and community leaders across the country are working to encourage young girls to explore opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematic fields.
The acronym for these fields is known as STEM and it is in these fields where women have historically been underrepresented. Nationally, women make up only about 28 percent of the STEM workforce. This underrepresentation is most pronounced in engineering and computer science and highlights the early education gaps where girls leave these fields due to a lack of support and encouragement.
The La Joya school district recently took on this challenge in hosting an event to celebrate Texas Girls in STEM Day. The school district designed the event to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators and to have more of them come from young girls that are interested in those fields.
“Today was all about giving our students the chance to explore, ask questions, and see how exciting STEM can be,” said Brenda Garcia, the executive director of K-12 Mathematics & Science for the La Joya Independent School District. “When girls are given opportunities like this to experiment, collaborate and think critically, it helps build confidence and shows them that they belong in those spaces.”
Changing Pathways
The La Joya ISD event featured more than 20 interactive STEM stations where students engaged in activities designed to spark curiosity and introduce them to real-world applications of science and technology.
The early March event was part of the district’s strategic plan which focuses on its Thriving Students plan. One of the plan’s goals is to introduce STEM concepts at an early age. It is especially important for girls to do so. The American Association of University Women says its research shows girls often do not see examples of female scientists and engineers in books, media and popular culture.
“Girls are less likely to be steered toward physics, calculus, and computer science courses that open doors to high-paying STEM fields,” the AAUW says on its web page. “In college, women are concentrated in health sciences while underrepresented in engineering and computing.”
State and local initiatives like the one in La Joya are seeking to change those pathways. It appeared that the La Joya ISD event was making that sort of impact.
Alexa Iglesias, a fifth grade La Joya student, said the event opened some new possibilities for her as she thinks about the future.
“It helped me learn about jobs that I didn’t really know about before,” Alexa said. “Now I think I might want to be a teacher or someone who does science experiments and math when I grow up.”
Ideas & Inspiration
Alexa and other students at the La Joya event rotated through a variety of engaging experiences from engineering challenges to science demonstrations.
The youngsters learned about the many career pathways available in STEM-related fields. La Joya educators believe event participants left the event with new ideas and inspirations and a clear message that young girls should explore STEM fields if they are interested in doing so. Careers in innovation, technology, and science are available to everyone.
“Our goal is to spark that curiosity early and help them begin imagining themselves in careers that can shape the future,” Garcia said.