WOMEN IN TECH BLOG SERIES: EMPOWERING GIRLS IN STEM

US industries based in STEM seem to have boundless growth.  With emerging technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and IoT devices, there will be a need to hire STEM professionals for decades to come.  With all these opportunities, women in technology, engineering, and math are still underrepresented.  We know this from all the articles that have been written in the past years and will still be written in years to come if we don’t get elementary school girls interested in STEM today.

This is where schools and parents come into play.  The schools should provide hands-on STEM activities and after school clubs while parents reinforce what is being taught in schools with activities at home.  If this is perpetuated through elementary school, then these girls will absolutely have confidence in pursuing STEM tracks all the way through high school.  They will be more likely to pursue higher education with career opportunities in technology, engineering, and math.

One of the ways schools and parents can collaborate is around coding.  The schools can teach these young girls how to code, but it’s the parents that can make it fun. Parents can work with the other parents with kids in the same coding classes to do social activities around coding.  This will enable learning from each other and create a peer support group to sustain their interest in programming.  Do an Internet search on “coding gifts for kids” and you’ll find everything from extending programs of their favorite video games to programming robots.

Organizations, such as Rosie Riveters (https://www.rosieriveters.com/) provides programs to build confidence around STEM within young girls.  Rosie Labs is an in-school programming initiative for teachers and students.  This in-school program enables teachers to provide STEM education to young girls.  Both teacher and students, and hence their community, are impacted by building critical thinking at an early age with the young girls.

Another fun program the Rosie Riveters provides are STEM kits.  These are boxes of tools, materials, and activities designed specifically to teach scientific inquiry and an understanding of the nature of science.  They allow the young girls to engage in problem solving and analysis in a fun and innovative way.  Parents can extend these kits by considering STEM toys.  These are math-based toys designed to increase a child’s curiosity and education.  They vary in discipline by coding, engineering, chemistry, mechanical, and even showing the science behind art.

I know some of these activities for young girls can be frustrating, but teaching the value of failure is one of the best ways to instill confidence.  By better understanding our strengths and limits, we are learning how to effectively succeed.  It builds coping skills and elasticity to enable us to avoid failures and win. These are life longs skills that permeate through all aspects of our lives.  Basically, failure is an opportunity to learn and grow.  Parents can encourage this in a couple of ways.  Get involved in your child’s learning process by asking questions together.  This will also build a trusting relationship as you solve problems together.  Another way to get involved is to try new things.  This will help in overcoming fear and inspire seeing the world in different ways.

Lastly, it is up to teachers and parents to constantly motivate young minds, especially when they fail.  Always point out their successes to instill that failures will happen, but it is not the norm.  Also, emphasize the journey is more important than the final success.  Once you point out what they have learned, then the return on investment of the journey will outweigh the failure.