Advancing STEM Education with After-School Programming for Girls from low-income Communities
Techbridge Girls is an award-winning nonprofit whose mission is to excite, educate, and equip girls from low-income communities (with an emphasis on underrepresented minority populations) to achieve economic mobility and better life chances through opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Techbridge Girls envisions a world where all girls lead, contribute, and thrive in STEM.
Our year-long ChangeMakers program provides impactful and holistic STEM programming to middle school girls. Our participants gain a deeper understanding of STEM concepts, explore STEM careers, develop 21st Century social/emotional skills and make an impact in their communities by identifying local or environmental challenges affecting their lives.
“We are proud to award Techbridge Girls our highest award. Their focus and intentionality in addressing the foundations of the gender gap in the STEM workforce are exemplary. They deeply impressed us with their holistic view of girls’ current learning experience and their long-term trajectory within STEM workplaces in the future. Their work is grounded in strong science and engineering learning with real-life applications, helping girls become embedded in STEM culture at an early age. We felt TechBridge Girls’ mentoring work was essential and powerful as it cultivates relationships over a yearlong period. Their approach to mentorship helps girls understand what a STEM professional is like, provides girls the opportunity to develop a relationship with a STEM professional, and sparks a sense of pride in the relationship for both the girls and mentors. The program really focuses on the student and supports their independence and creativity to pursue their own ideas and projects, which makes the program stand out not only as educational but as empowering.”