Women of Congress Promote STEM Education, Careers
The women of Congress are working to empower young women to see themselves in STEM
careers. The congresswomen joined leaders from businesses, nonprofits, and global corporations
for a luncheon Wednesday hosted by the nonpartisan Million Women Mentors (MWM). The
almost 150 people in attendance dined together to celebrate MWM’s efforts to promote
mentoring young women in STEM fields.
STEM careers are the fastest-growing jobs in the United States, yet women make up only a
quarter of STEM workers.
To bridge the gender gap and bolster the U.S. labor force, female leaders say young girls need to
see STEM careers as an option through mentorships and exciting hands-on education.
“When you give a girl a chance to build a robot when she’s 5 or build a rocket when she’s 10,
she will have the inspiration and the know-how to become interested in those fields and see her
future in those fields,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Representatives Debbie
Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) and Kay Granger (R-TX) are trying to do just that. The day after the
luncheon, the lawmakers introduced HR 4161, the 21st Century STEM for Underrepresented
Students Act.
The legislation would use grants from the National Science Foundation to fund research on
STEM programs that work to engage elementary- and middle-school students who are typically
underrepresented in STEM fields. “High school and college are often too late to expose students
to STEM. That effort must start earlier, and target underrepresented students such as girls, people
of color, and those who have historically faced economic or other barriers to STEM
achievement,” Wasserman Schultz said in a statement to CQ Roll Call. (From B. Bowman, Roll
Call, March 7, 2014)