Last Thursday was “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” Day, and there are women leaders trying to help do just that.
Why is STEM important:
Winning For Women believes we need to invest in the workforce of tomorrow and STEM careers are the careers of the future. We need to prepare all of our children for success in these fields. STEM fields have a particular lack of women leaders. Let’s fix that by teaching women and girls how to work in STEM so they can grow up to lead the way.
Is anyone doing anything about it?:
Yes! Here are just a few examples:
Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (NY-21) bill, The Code Like A Girl Act, (how awesome is that title?) creates two National Science Foundation grants to research and fund computer science programs that encourage early childhood education in STEM for girls under the age of 11. Stefanik’s bill was included in a larger package of legislation that passed the House last week. Also in that package of legislation was Building Blocks of STEM Act, written by Jackie Rosen (NV-3). A bipartisan victory for girls!
Where you can learn more: The Hill, The Ripon Advance, The New York Observer, Las Vegas Review Journal
Last year, Rep. Barbara Comstock’s (VA-10) INSPIRE Act became law after President Trump signed the bill to call on NASA to reach out to women and girls to encourage them to learn STEM topics so the next generation of women at NASA won’t be “Hidden Figures.”
Rep. Martha McSally (who is currently running for Senate in Arizona) is also advancing STEM issues forward by moving forward a piece of legislation that will help fund mining programs which train and educate the next generation of mining and mineral experts.
This piece originally appeared in WFW’s Newsletter: Weekly Wins, Volume 2. Click here to sign up!
