<aside> 💡 Girls in STEAM is a Canadian nonprofit organization that supports access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Design, Maths) education for girls, women, gender-diverse* people, and the LGBTQ+ community across North America.
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In the U.S., despite women making up nearly half the workforce at 48%, only 27% of the STEM workers are women by 2019. We have made gains, however, as in 1970, only 8% of women worked in STEM-related fields (U.S. Census Bureau).
In Canada, there are even less women in STEM. According to Statistics Canada, 34% of Canadians with a STEM degree are women and they make up only 23% of Canadians working in science and technology (Statistics Canada).
We strive to support more women in accessing STEAM education.
In an industry with disproportionate representation, STEM education should consider inclusivity for women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and individuals with one or more identities who are commonly excluded from normative design space.
We also understand that art & design are inseparable in today’s STEM education. In order to build a diverse and technologically advanced community, representation matters (in terms of ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, etc.) amongst leaders and creators. When people from varied backgrounds come together, they can bring forward more creative and comprehensive solutions, which will make way for more accessible and inclusive spaces.
We aim to help balance the gender disparity in the tech industry through creating community, educational programming, and an accessible network for girls, women, gender-diverse* people, and the LGBTQ+ community to kick start their early careers.
Only 1 in every 4 directors at publicly traded U.S. companies was woman-identifying at the end of 2021 (Equilar, 2022).
Building vertical network & horizontal community amongst our program attendees.
Connecting our program attendees with role models and exposing them to new knowledge.
Providing support, resources & educational programming through inclusive design spaces.
<aside> 🔗 Link to our Inclusion Statement
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