Shifra Narasimhan, left and Abigail Tadlock learn to build a simple circuit during the Tech Savvy workshop at Ohio University May 17, 2014. The event exposes girls from sixth through ninth grade to the field of science, technology, engineering and math. Photo by Ohio University / Jonathan Adams
Although women hold close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) jobs. The Athens Branch is one of 23 AAUW National Tech Savvy sites working to improve those numbers.
The Athens branch hosts an AAUW National Tech Savvy program, a daylong event designed to show girls firsthand how STEM fields can lead to exciting careers, on Saturday, May 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Baker Center at Ohio University.
- Students and parents can register online. by April 22. The cost is $5 for each girl and includes a T-shirt plus breakfast and lunch for girls and their parents or mentors.
Girls will experience a day of hands-on fun with science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
- Learn what it takes to become a scientist, technology, engineer or math expert.
- Explore gravity, write computer code, build bridges, test water quality, create motion with magnets and more.
- A separate session for adults shows them how to help girls on their path to college and a career.
The conference, part of the AAUW National Tech Savvy Pilot Program and funded in part by Ohio University, will welcome 100 girls in grades six through nine and their families to Ohio University.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Nancy Stevens, Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Ohio University.
OHIO is hosting 12 science and technology workshops and six Savvy skills (communication, teamwork etc) workshops for the middle school girls who attend.
Parent’s program includes speakers from university admissions, college finances, and “Encouraging Girls in STEM When It’s Not Your Background,” a session sponsored by the OHIO Women’s Center, and ‘Your Daughter DOES Have a Brain for Math and Science” presented by Dr. Julie Suhr, Professor of Psychology at OHIO.
Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology at Ohio University, leads the effort to bring Tech Savvy to OHIO as a way to reach middle school girls and their families from our surrounding Appalachian region.
AAUW’s Tech Savvy and similar programs offer one way to increase the number of women in the STEM pipeline. Recommendations and suggestions for how institutions and employers can foster more women in these fields, particularly in the lucrative engineering and tech jobs, appear in AAUW’s research report Solving the Equation: The Variables for Women’s Success in Engineering and Computing.
“This is an exciting time for women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Ana Kay Yaghoubian, STEM senior manager at AAUW. “What’s great about Tech Savvy is that it’s a family affair. Parents take part in the conference because they are an important part of the solution. We want moms, dads, and other supportive family members to encourage girls to pursue their STEM passions because too many girls still get the message that those fields aren’t for them.”
Created in 2006 by Tamara Bown, former president of the AAUW Buffalo (NY) Branch, Tech Savvy has since served more than 5,000 girls. As a result of her work, Brown was honored as a White House Champion of Change.
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Our nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 170,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and more than 800 college and university partners. Since AAUW’s founding in 1881, our members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political.
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