IEEE and Girl Scouts Partner to Get Girls Into STEM

The percentage of women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields remains stubbornly low. Women made up 28% of the global workforce in STEM fields last year, according to the World Economic Forum.

The IEEE and many other organizations run outreach programs targeting pre-college girls and college-age women, and studies show that one of the most powerful ways to encourage girls to consider STEM careers is to introduce them to female role models in these fields. This exposure can provide girls with ideas, guidance and advice on how to succeed in STEM.

To provide a place to connect young girls with members working in STEM, IEEE has partnered with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America’s Heart of New Jersey (GSHNJ) council and its See Her, Be Her career exploration program. The annual event, now in its eighth year, formerly called What a GIRL Can Be, offers girls the opportunity to learn about STEM careers by participating in hands-on activities, playing games and interviewing professionals at exhibits.

This year’s event took place in May at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Volunteers from the IEEE North Jersey Section and the IEEE Technical Activities Future Networks technical community were among the 30 exhibitors. More than 100 girls participated.

“IEEE and Girl Scouts share the view that STEM fields require a diversity of thoughts, experiences and backgrounds to be able to use technology to improve the world,” said IEEE member Craig Polk, senior program director for the technical community. He helped coordinate the See Her, Be Her event.

“We know there is a shortage of girls and women in STEM careers,” adds Johanna Nurjahan, girls experience manager for the Heart of New Jersey council. “We’re really trying to create that pipeline, which is necessary to ensure that the number of women in STEM fields increases. »

STEM is one of the four pillars

The Girl Scouts organization strives to help girls develop courage, confidence, and character. The program is based on four pillars: life skills, outdoor skills, entrepreneurship and STEM.

“We offer girls a wide range of experiences that allow them to take control of their future, explore their interests and discover the joy of learning new skills,” says Nurjahan. “As they grow and progress through the program, they continue to develop and refine skills that build courage, confidence and character, qualities that prepare them to make the world a better place. Everything we do helps build a strong foundation for leadership.”

A fruitful collaboration

The partnership between IEEE and the Girl Scouts began shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020. Volunteers from IEEE chapters worked with IEEE TryEngineering to bring resources to fields that had not historically been represented in STEM, Polk says.

Trinity Zang, laboratory manager at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Essex County, New Jersey, shows a Girl Scout Brownie how to transfer liquid samples using pipettes.GSHNJ

During the same period, Girl Scouts increased their involvement in STEM-related programs. They worked with the US sections of the IEEE to conduct hands-on activities in schools. They also hosted career fairs and created STEM badges. Since then, the collaboration has developed.

“IEEE has always been a fantastic partner,” says Nurjahan. “They are always willing to help us as we work to get more girls involved in STEM.” »

IEEE first became involved in the See Her, Be Her career fair in May 2024, which was also held at Stevens Tech.

“Being able to introduce engineering and STEM to potential future innovators and leaders provides a better understanding of how societal problems can be solved,” Polk says. “IEEE also benefits from a new generation knowing who we are and what our charity does to improve humanity through technology.”

“See Her, Be Her gives girls the chance to see women pursuing non-traditional careers and inspires them to dream bigger, challenge their limits and believe they can do anything they want,” says Nurjahan. “It’s about showing them that all avenues are open to them. They just have to go for it.”

One of the volunteers who participated in this year’s career fair was IEEE Senior Fellow Gautami Nadkarni. A cloud architect, she is a senior customer engineer at Google in New York.

“I am very passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion and other similar initiatives because I believe it is something that I have personally benefited from during my career,” says Nadkarni. “I had many loyal supporters and champions.”

She says she was inspired to pursue a career in STEM after attending a lecture by a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

“I remember being so empowered and really inspired by her and thinking, Wow, there’s someone who looks like me and is going places,” Nadkarni says. “When I look back, it’s one of the moments that helped shape who I am career-wise.”

IEEE senior member Gautami Nadkarn decorated his career fair booth with a cloud motif.Gautami Nadkarn

She holds a master’s degree in management information systems from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Dwarkadas Jivanlal Sanghvi College of Engineering, Mumbai.

His career fair exhibit focused on cloud computing. She decorated her booth with a cloud motif and introduced herself to young people as a “big business superhero” because she helps them keep their information safe and organized. She used child-friendly examples, telling the Girl Scouts that she teaches customers how to use supercomputers to better understand information and help them determine the type of toys children want.

“IEEE and Girl Scouts share the view that STEM fields require a diversity of thoughts, experiences, and backgrounds to be able to use technology to improve the world.” -Craig Polk

“I think cloud computing is still an untapped area,” she says. “A lot of people probably don’t know much about cloud engineering.

“I wanted to create awareness and an experience to show that it’s not boring and show how they can use it in their everyday lives.”

His exhibit showcased the tasks performed by cloud engineers. To describe the fundamentals of how data is stored, managed and processed, she created a data sorting exercise by asking participants to separate toy dinosaurs by color. To explain the importance of data security, she created a puzzle showing students how to protect valuable information. To demonstrate how AI can bring someone’s crazy ideas to life, she taught them to use Google Cloud’s text-to-image conversion model, Imagen 3. The girls used their imaginations, which translated into AI-generated images, including that of a dog riding a unicycle on a boat. The girls also wrote audio messages using different voices.

“The exhibitors who participate in the See Her, Be Her program are a source of inspiration,” says Nurjahan. “It’s inspiring to see the girls’ enthusiasm after meeting the exhibitors. A few minutes of engagement gives them a glimpse of their potential and sparks hope for the future, whatever career they choose.”