Among the 5,000 people who attended the Fleet's Great American Eclipse event last August was a four year-old girl proudly wearing a t-shirt that read, "Forget princess,
I want to be an Astrophysicist!"
Many young women, like our future astrophysicist above, are interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers. However, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women, who comprise 48 percent of the work force, make up only 24 percent of STEM workers. Noted reasons for this gap include a lack of female role models, societal bias and pressure from peers.
The Fleet Science Center is committed to addressing this disparity through a suite of innovative programs just for girls.
This Giving Tuesday, give a gift to inspire the next generation of female scientists.
Your gift will be matched
by three Fleet Board Members and their families up to $25,000. This means your gift will go twice as far to support Fleet programs like SciTech, Saturday Science Club and BE WiSE (Better Education for Women in Science and Engineering)!
What do these programs do? SciTech is an on-campus after-school program that inspires girls in grades 4-6 through project-based STEM learning. Saturday Science Club is where girls in grades 5-8 meet women scientists and participate monthly in hands-on activities. BE WiSE reaches 600 girls grades 7-12 through workshops, overnights and events in collaboration with female STEM professionals throughout San Diego County.
The Fleet is making a difference in the lives of young women every day. Whether the four year old at our solar eclipse event, or a college student studying biomedicine, we know STEM has the power to change lives.
"BE WiSE is probably the best thing I have had the opportunity to be part of. I was able to experience
a new world of science that is so extraordinarily diverse and applicable to all aspects of our
daily lives."
- UC Berkeley biomedical major
