Encouraging young girls to pursue careers in STEM fields
March is Expanding Girls’ Horizons in Science and Engineering Month, started by the Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) Network, founded in 1974 in USA.
The initiative is all about helping young girls develop more interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) throughout their educational careers.
The goal is to motivate girls to become innovative and creative thinkers ready to meet 21st century challenges.
A female staff member of the honey bee research centre at Celle at a pair of scales, Germany 1930s. (Image: Lammel/M-Verlag Berlin/United Archives/Universal Images Group 
Christine Darden, NASA mathematician, data analyst, and aeronautical engineer, head and shoulders portrait during work at Supersonic Aerodynamics Branch, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia, USA, NASA, 1977. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Dorothea Klumpke Roberts (1861-1942), American mathematician and astronomer. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Augusta Ada, Countess Lovelace (1815-1852) English mathematician and writer. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Photograph of Valentina Tereshkova (1937-) the first woman to have flown to space. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group 
Jane Goodall, British primatologist, anthropologist, ethologist and UN Messenger of Peace. (Image: VWPics/Universal Images Group 
Woman scientist in early 20th century (circa between 1909 and 1923). (Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
Woman scientist with experiment circa between 1909 and 1923. (Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
Memorial plaque for Nobel Prize Winner, Dr Dorothy Hodgkin 1910-1994, Beccles, Suffolk, England, UK. (Image: Geography Photos/UCG/Universal Images Group 
Mrs. F.W. Patterson engaged in scientific research for over 20 years, comparing studies of fungus diseases of plants circa between 1910 and 1920. (Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
France circa 1920, portrait of two time Nobel Prize winning chemist and physicist Marie Curie. (Image: Underwood Archives/Universal Images Group 
Women scientists: standing: Miss Nellie A. Brown; L to R: Miss Lucia McCollock, Miss Mary K. Bryan, Miss Florence Hedges. Circa 1910s (Image: HUM Images/Universal Images Group 
Katherine Johnson, NASA mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights, head and shoulders portrait, NASA Langley Research Center, Bob Nye for NASA, 1980. (Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group
Although the gender gap in STEM has been closing in recent years, there is still a significant underrepresentation of women in these fields. According to the National Science Foundation, women make up only 28% of the workforce in science and engineering. Women of color are even more underrepresented. Schools, organizations, and communities come together to inspire girls by showcasing the achievements of women in STEM, offering hands-on activities, and providing mentorship opportunities.
https://www.scienceiselementary.org/blog/expanding-girls-horizons
CERN has even been involved. In November 2022, female volunteers from CERN took part in the seventh edition of the science event organised by the Expanding Your Horizons –Geneva (EYH) association. More than 300 girls aged 11–14, living in Geneva and the surrounding area, took part in workshops and visited stands covering a wide range of fields: physics, chemistry, mathematics, computing, engineering, technology, life sciences and planetary science. Between workshops, the girls had the opportunity to talk to professionals at the stands and also at a ‘Mentoring Café, giving them the chance to chat informally, in small groups, with female professionals working in fields connected to STEM, to hear their inspiring stories and discover how they got to where they are today.
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Sources:
https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/expanding-girls-horizons-in-science-and-engineering-month
https://www.scienceiselementary.org/blog/expanding-girls-horizons