A report from the National Girls Collaborative Project states that women make up roughly 48 percent of the total workforce but only 34 percent of the STEM workforce. On Monday, roughly 800 girls in eighth grade took turns visiting the hall of exhibitors at Southeast Technical College. With the goal of the event on Monday being to show more girls what a career in STEM may be like for them.
Eighth grade students from across South Dakota came to the event and were able to listen to presenters throughout the day in order to get a better understanding of the field. Despite having several years before they graduate high school, having this experience now gives them the time that they need in order to consider all of their future career opportunities.
Women in Science committee member Lisa Schramm stated that, “Examples are admissions representatives from colleges all the way to POET to Butler Machinery, This is really a way to get in front of these students before they say, ‘Oh, I can’t fly a plane,’ or ‘I can’t be a dairy producer.’ Getting them to experience that at a really young age, 11, 12, 13, years old is really impactful and it opens a lot more doors.”
—
Photo Credit: Molly Woodward / Shutterstock.com