What is #GirlsLeadSTEM?

Launched in June 2022, #GirlsLeadSTEM is a national awareness campaign to elevate the diverse voices of young women and girls in STEM, especially those who are marginalized. Through a collective voice, #GirlsLeadSTEM will celebrate the girls who lead their STEM journeys and raise their voices to inspire and share their perspectives on what’s needed to close the gaps in STEM.

What is #GirlsLeadSTEM Month?

October 2022 will be the inaugural #GirlsLeadSTEM Month. During this month, we’ll rally like-minded organizations and individuals to join us for a coordinated social media campaign to raise awareness of girls leading the way in STEM and the organizations supporting them.

The Founding Coalition members saw an opportunity to create a collective voice during the month of October, when numerous STEM-related events and campaigns are planned. Establishing a unified voice to deepen their collective impact, #GirlsLeadSTEM was born to amplify awareness and engagement to close the gender and racial gaps in STEM education and careers.

What is STEM?

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math. These fields share a focus on problem-solving, critical thinking and innovation. These are skills that are significant in these fields, which are growing rapidly.

Why focus on gender and racial equity in STEM?

By 2030, STEM jobs are projected to increase by 10.5% and earn significantly more, sometimes double the rate, of non-STEM occupations (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Black and LatinX populations are disproportionately underrepresented in STEM fields with Black workers making up only 9% of the STEM workforce and only 5% of the engineering workforce. LatinX workers make up only 8% of the STEM workforce (Pew Research Center).

Women are significantly underrepresented in the fields of engineering (15%) and computer science (25%). These numbers have only increased by 3% since 1990.

What are the goals of #GirlsLeadSTEM?

• To raise awareness of the future women leaders in STEM and the organizations supporting them;

• enable more girls to “see themselves” and inspire them to pursue STEM education and careers;

• understand, from their perspective, what’s needed to ensure persistence in STEM; and

• mobilize the corporate, nonprofit and public sectors to support their needs by committing to impactful STEM initiatives focused on closing the gender gap in STEM.

How can I participate in #GirlsLeadSTEM Month?

• Determine events and stories you can highlight during the #GirlsLeadSTEM month of October.

• During October, follow and use the hashtag #GirlsLeadSTEM to share relevant stories of girls leading STEM.

• Sign up for our monthly newsletter to receive tips and resources for how to uplift girls leading STEM.

Who created #GirlsLeadSTEM?

#GirlsLeadSTEM is the brainchild of a coalition of STEM champions committed to advancing gender and racial equity in STEM, including the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Intel Corporation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, STEM Next Opportunity Fund, Techbridge Girls and the National Girls Collaborative Project.

Collaborative is a key component to how each organization does their work, hence the collaborative, open nature of this national awareness campaign. Partner with this coalition in October by using the hashtag #GirlsLeadSTEM

How is #GirlsLeadSTEM related to existing STEM initiatives like STEM Next’s Million Girls Moonshot and Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN® Initiative?

#GirlsLeadSTEM is a national awareness campaign focused on garnering greater attention for the need to close the gender and racial gaps in STEM. We’ll do this by highlighting the girls who are leading the way and the organizations supporting them.

STEM Next’s Million Girls Moonshot and Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN® Initiative are two examples of existing efforts with significant and meaningful commitments to close these gaps through impact-driven programming.

If your organization is working to provide STEM opportunities for girls and youth of color, this is your opportunity to share your work!

#GirlsLeadSTEM provides a unified voice to further amplify these efforts. Join this awareness campaign to elevate the stories of our remarkable young people by using the hashtag #GirlsLeadSTEM all throughout October.