girlstartup

Women often face the challenge of being overlooked or interrupted in conversations, a reality combated by phrases such as “Stop interrupting me,” and “No explanation needed”. This issue is particularly prevalent in male-dominated fields like science and engineering. However, many women, such as Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College, have overcome these hurdles to achieve great success. It’s essential to instill confidence in girls and reassure them that they can flourish despite inherent gender biases.

Things are changing, if slowly, for women, in science and technology. Women make up just 4% of partners at venture capital firms, and about 20% of angel investors, both vital sources for fast-track technology companies. Only 3% of technology CEOs are women, and just 15% of technology firms have at least one woman founder. But…

It’s not news that gender bias persists at U.S. universities, especially in the sciences. What’s surprising is how long-lasting and pervasive this bias is. Even today, gender biases continue to color how female academics are viewed professionally. Science professors at U.S. universities widely regarded women undergraduates as less competent than men with the same skills…

The choices girls make in their academic lives will have profound effects on their careers. This is true of everyone, of course, but for girls with a talent for the sciences and who become disenchanted with the field because they see little opportunity for them, their academic years can, in a way, make or break…

Girls begin their education with the same potential as boys, but by the end of high school, their excitement and potential in sciences has been stifled. Why is that? Part of it is that girls can absorb unconscious stereotypes that tell them what paths they should follow. They are exposed to subliminal messages that steer…

While opportunities in technology have exploded since 2000, fewer women today are actually pursuing computer science degrees than in the 1970s and 1980s, when women made up one quarter of all computer science students in the nation’s colleges and universities. A generation ago, young women were pursuing computer science in earnest. Today women make up…

If anyone doubts that young women face discouragement because of their gender, consider Barbara Barres, who was a prominent female neurobiologist at Stanford University. Early in her studies as a student at MIT, Barres had solved a tough math problem. Rather than praise her for her work, her professor remarked, “Your boyfriend must have solved…

Young women have made amazing strides—in law, business, life sciences, and a number of other fields that are traditionally male domains. But engineering and computer science are a different story. There is still a lower proportion of women majoring in computer science in U.S. colleges and universities than a generation ago. The percentage of young…

When girls (and boys) are exposed to entrepreneurial thinking, a profound change takes place. They learn to solve problems, to think critically and to recognize opportunities. Take the example of a group of 5- and 6-year-olds who participated in a weeklong VentureLab summer camp. Very soon after learning that they could become entrepreneurs, these children…

Science is about discoveries. It is the thrill of every scientist to uncover a new formula or truth that can change the world. Holding onto such a dream makes all of the hard work and years of study worthwhile. Such a dream knows no gender—anyone can be inspired to pursue science and engineering as a…