According to the National Science Board, women make up 28% of the current science and engineering workforce. Of this already low percentage, women of color comprise only 5%.
There are many factors that contribute to this unfortunate reality. One of those lies in K-12 education. According to the Educational Research Center of America, male and female students share an equal ability to do well in STEM subjects. However, female students hold less confidence in these STEM classes. If these students aren’t encouraged— or are discouraged— to study STEM during their educational career, there is a high likelihood the lack of confidence will persist, leading these girls to choose different majors and careers in college and beyond.
That is exactly what we want to prevent.
TechGYRLS Mentoring Program (TGMP), led by UC Berkeley students through the YWCA Berkeley/Oakland, is a program dedicated to providing local elementary and middle school girls with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) workshops that are designed through a racial justice and female empowerment lens. We combine hands-on STEAM experiments and demonstrations, career exploration, and SEL (social emotional learning) to provide our girls with the encouragement and confidence needed to pursue a future career in STEAM as traditionally underrepresented women of color. From environmentalism to public health to coding, with the help of our UC Berkeley volunteer mentors, we provide the Berkeley/Oakland community with a diverse set of experiences and a whole lot of STEAM fun!
Within one semester of working in elementary school girls at REACH Academy and Piedmont Avenue Elementary, we’ve already seen the impacts. The students greet us with excited faces, eager to learn and even more eager to ask questions. One participant even told us that we’re the “best after-school program” they’ve ever attended! Another participant, after an astronomy-centered workshop, said they now wanted to “become an astronomy scientist and discover [their] own planet!” Truly, TechGYRLS Mentoring Program holds a special place in the local community already.
That’s why we need your help to continue to provide these impactful lessons to these girls! Donations will help cover the cost of purchasing supplies for our experiments and transportation to the school sites for our mentors as we go all over Berkeley and Oakland.
We appreciate your help in building a better community and a better future for all!
| Rank | State | Gifts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CA | 1 |
| 2 | AA | 0 |
| 2 | AE | 0 |
