Local Programs Inspire Girls to Pursue STEM Careers

Women in STEM fields historically have been underrepresented. While the percentages of women entering technology fields have improved over the years, women in STEM leadership positions are still lagging fairly far behind men.

Girls of Steel

To help change the status quo, there are several programs in Pittsburgh, which has emerged as a tech hub in recent years, that are designed specifically for women and girls to encourage STEM participation.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a nonprofit and educational service organization with more than 50,000 members worldwide; about 250 members are in Pittsburgh. The mission, said Kimberly Daloise, VP of STEM outreach, SWE Pittsburgh, is to “…empower women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders. It is really important, too, because women only make up 14% of engineers in the United States.”

She continued, “Studies have shown girls and boys show an equal amount of interest in math and sciences until around middle school age, but after that is where we are seeing girls lose interest. That is an age group to which we really try to give some attention.”

To that end, the organization engages in outreach activities, such as attending schools’ STEM nights and working with girls on hands-on STEM activities, or providing speakers who talk about why engineering is a great career choice, even giving tips on applying for scholarships. “We also support local competitions by providing SWE awards and judges,” Daloise added.

In addition to supporting schools and organizations, SWE Pittsburgh holds its own event called STEM Girls Connect, focusing on eighth-12th grade girls. “Girls interested in STEM get to talk with engineers and engineering college students and do a hands-on activity. This year it will be on May 9 at The Ellis School. We will also run a Design Build Engineer event at the Shaler Library in July for fifth- to eighth-graders,” said Daloise, adding that the nonprofit also runs a virtual college fair for high school students.

The life sciences are another area of STEM in which females traditionally have been inadequately represented. The Pittsburgh chapter of Women in Bio, a national nonprofit, was founded in 2012 and aims to promote and support women leaders in the biosciences and other STEM fields. WIB has multiple committees catering to different age and career groups.

Dr. Cigdem Benam is the current chapter chair of WIB Pittsburgh, and Dr. Edwina Kinchington is the Pittsburgh co-chair for Young Women in Bio (YWIB), the committee focusing on high school students and introducing girls to opportunities in life sciences by partnering with local institutions and companies.

“YWIB, specifically, is trying to expose the next generation to what is out there. We do that by mentorship and career panels. We try to have three to four events a year. Some of them might be in person, such as visiting some of the local biotech companies and labs. There is so much depth in the field of biomedical research today that it’s not just about becoming a doctor. We are engaging the students into thinking about where they see themselves and having them see role model women work in these fields. That is really a big part of the events,” said Kinchington, who is an educator at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy.

YWIB serves students from all over Allegheny County. Kinchington said that there is a newly created YWIB ambassador program, enabling young women to act as liaisons to spread the word about STEM opportunities, culminating in a capstone project.

“We welcome new partners: people who might be interested in being those liaisons for hosting an event at their site to help engage our high school students,” said Kinchington.

Gwen's Girls

The nonprofit Gwen’s Girls, named after its founder, Gwen Elliott, a former police commander who spent a lot of time working with community organizations focused on women and children, serves at-risk girls in marginalized communities. “Our mission is to empower girls by exposing them to educational and other experiences that they typically wouldn’t have access to so they can be self-sufficient and productive members of society,” said CEO Dr. Kathi R. Elliott.

One program under the Gwen’s Girls umbrella is the STEMpowered Initiative, which introduces girls to STEM and how it relates to everyday life and workplace opportunities.

Gwen's Girls

For example, said Elliott, “Right now, we’ve been doing hydroponics and understanding how to grow fruits and vegetables and how that relates to cooking and shopping. We also have an initiative called ‘fashioneering,’ where we’ve had a volunteer who is a retired engineer to teach them how to sew. When making clothing, you need math skills and dexterity in making an end product, so we’re using sewing and fashion design as a way to appeal to the girls, and at the end, they have a tangible product that they made. We take it further and talk about entrepreneurship and how do you take the things you create and turn it into a business.”

For girls of all ages interested in robotics, Girls of Steel Robotics is an outreach program through The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. Founded in 2010, the goal was to make the university’s robotics program more intriguing to girls. Participants build robots to enter into a competition. “Once the rules are released, they think through the strategy, go through the design process, then go through the actual building process,” said Lead Mentor Sarah Withee.

In addition to building friendships and confidence, the participants emerge with building knowledge, mechanical skills and more.

Girls of Steel

Now a senior at The Ellis School, Avery Mills has been an active team member in Girls of Steel Robotics since sophomore year. “I’d say the biggest tech skills that I wouldn’t have learned anywhere else is CAD — computer-aided design. We CAD our robot before we assemble it, figure out how all the components will be, and construct a 3D model online to see if everything works. I didn’t think I knew how to design, but I ended up falling in love with it,” she said.

All STEM program organizers agree that early exposure to STEM can shape a young girls’ long-term career aspirations. In robotics, for example, Withee said that it involves a lot of creative problem-solving. “Even if you have no interest in staying in robotics after high school, it is important for building confidence, especially seeing the other girls around you. A few students who start are really shy and uncertain. They blossom in such a way that it fills me with joy to know that even if they do not go on to become an engineer, they are still gaining something,” said Withee.

For her part, Avery has chosen to attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall to study biomedical engineering, hoping to one day design medical technology or do medical research. In addition to leadership skills and learning about time management and communications, Avery said, “Robotics has taught me a lot of the problem-solving skills and perseverance in going into a scientific field.”

And for those girls who are not sure if robotics or tech is for them, Avery’s advice is simply to just try it. “If you don’t like it, that’s ok, but if you do, it could change your life.”