Event Aims To Empower Black Girls In STEM As Demand For Those Careers Soar
An accomplished engineer, Kara Branch is focused on helping Black girls gain knowledge about STEM and assisting them in pursuing careers in the potentially lucrative field.
An estimated 3.5 million jobs in STEM — or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – reportedly need to be filled by 2025. Yet, under 3% of the sector’s jobs are now held by Black women. Another eye-popping statistic showed that most women working in STEM at the federal level were white (66%) versus about 15% for Black.
Black Girls Do Engineer (BGDE), a nonprofit founded and run by Branch, aims to help change the picture. Calling it a first-of-its-kind event, Branch says it will allow many Black girls who have never been hands-on with any STEM experience the ability to do so in a supportive environment. She added Black female STEM professionals will lead it.
On March 2, it will conduct the 2nd Annual STEM Day for Girls in grades 3 through 12 at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy in Downtown Houston. It aims to bring more girls of color into STEM education and careers through resources, exposure, and representation.
Some 150 girls ages 8 through 17 have been registered for this year’s event, up from 100 a year ago. Registration deadline is Feb. 28, here. Calling it a first of its kind event, Branch says it will allow many Black girls who have never been hands on with any STEM experience the ability to do so in a supportive environment. She added it will be led by Black female STEM professionals.
Branch launched her organization in 2019 with the concern that Black-American girls and young women are not choosing STEM-related careers to get more Black girls in the field.
Based in Houston, among the nation’s largest cities for Blacks, BGDE also has chapters in Los Angeles and New Orleans. It reports helping 2,220 girls from kindergarten through college thus far and helping score $44,000 in STEM-related college scholarships for BGDE members since it started.
The event will include 11 hands-on activities focused on robotics, AI, and coding with students separated by grade/age level. Student attendees can ask panelists about their experiences as women of color in STEM. Branch and two of her student members recently appeared on national ABC News.
“They can see what STEM means and what a career in STEM looks like from successful professionals in these exploding fields, who can share what the possibilities are.”
Indeed, STEM jobs remain among the highest in demand among jobs overall. This report shows STEM-related jobs pay over $100,000, especially mathematics and computer positions.
Simultaneously, the application-based academic program is now going into its 5th season, beginning October 2024 to May 2025. Registration and applications open in April 2024 for the October session nationally.
Branch reflected, “From my perspective, I have heard from so many parents that their girls love science, math, or engineering, but there weren’t tangible resources to pursue this path, and they found it with us.”
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