By Emma Logeson
“How do you advocate for yourself?” This question was posed by Wendy Merchant, the founder of STEMblazers, an organization aiming to address the gender gap in STEM spaces. As of today, 72% of those working in science and engineering fields are men, while only 28% are women. Women of color comprise fewer than one in twenty employed scientists and engineers. In schools, male students enroll in AP computer science at a rate of 81%, compared to 19% of their female peers. Across the United States, although women fill close to half of the total jobs, they still hold less than 25% in the STEM field. For women already in STEM, this jarring absence is an unfortunate part of work life.
Wendy realized just how large the gap is around ten years ago when she left the mechanical engineering industry after 20 years. While searching for STEM programs for her son and opportunities for herself, she noticed the severe lack of women colleagues and participants. She states, “It became very obvious very fast that there were still very few girls participating in these programs, and I couldn’t believe it!” But when Wendy did the research, the statistics spoke for themselves; the number of women in the engineering industry had flat lined over the past 30 years. Additionally, the number of women in the computer science and tech industry had steadily decreased since the 1990s. She quickly realized her industry wasn’t going to change any time soon unless someone addressed the issue, thus beginning the history of STEMblazers. With its origins in Denver, Colorado, STEMblazers now has programs in middle and high schools across NC, with one of their mentors, Jami Lyons, becoming an ambassador in the Holly Springs Chamber of Commerce.
STEMblazers primarily focuses on middle and high school programs to get girls interested in STEM early in their academic careers. One of the biggest challenges they face is building girls’ confidence in themselves. Wendy explains, “Before [girls] leave elementary school, by fifth grade, they’ve already decided if they’re good at math and science.” Studies show that young girls self-select out of STEM subjects, deciding before the age of 15 if they’re smart enough to participate in them. This poses STEMblazers with the challenge of fighting one of the hardest battles — reinstating the confidence in girls to exist in spaces previously barred or believed to be “too challenging” for them.
At the middle school level, STEMblazers primarily focuses on getting girls interested in STEM. To do this, organizers utilize volunteer and mentor work, inviting women who work in STEM and past members to visit middle schools and talk with the students about their future careers. Students learn about these jobs and explore their potential careers with the help of hands-on activities, advice from mentors, confidence-building exercises, and industry tours. Going into high school, in addition to industry tours, STEMblazers helps girls find job-shadowing opportunities and summer internships, and they hold professional development workshops.
STEMblazers also offers post-high school programs for young women planning on going to college as well as women looking for alternate paths. Recently, STEMblazers merged with She’s in Power, a workforce program designed to provide women ages 18 and up with opportunities to explore careers in the rapidly growing clean energy industry. Women who don’t wish to or cannot go to college are supported by STEMblazers through help with certification processes, exploring trade school options, and potentially acquiring jobs via corporate partnerships who provide on-site training for those without a degree.
“I have known some of the students since they’ve been in seventh grade and middle school,” Wendy explains. “One young lady, when I met her in middle school, was very soft-spoken and had trouble maintaining eye contact.” She stayed with STEMblazers throughout her academic career and credits the program for helping her build the self-confidence to speak up in class, address unfairness in her workplace, and advocate for herself. Today, not only does she return as a mentor for current students in STEMblazers, but she also delivers TED talks to audiences of hundreds. “She is one of the most well-spoken young women and confident young women I’ve met,” Wendy states. “It’s just incredible to watch.”
The STEMblazers program is open to students in 6th through 12th grade, in public, private, and home schools. Registration for the South Wake Chapter is offered at Holly Springs High School at the beginning of the school year. In addition to their programs, STEMblazers annually holds social events, inviting members and industry professionals to mingle and network. Learn more at www.stemblazers.org or email info@stemblazers.org.
For young women, finding their voice can be challenging — especially in spaces where they are unaccustomed to being heard. This poses the question again: “How do you advocate for yourself?” The answer will almost certainly be different from person to person. Arguably, no one correct answer exists. However, programs like STEMblazers help push young women to find their own answer and show the next generation of women what’s possible.
