STEM Girls 4 Social Good

While job market demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) talent continues to grow, women and minorities remain underrepresented in STEM fields. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women hold less than 24 percent of U.S.-based positions in STEM fields. The disparity is even greater for women of color. The National Science Foundation has found that throughout the past 20 years, African-American women’s share of bachelor’s degrees has declined in computer sciences, mathematics and statistics, and engineering.

Booz Allen’s STEM Girls 4 Social Good (SG4SG) program—run annually since 2014 in partnership with Girls Inc.—aims to bridge the talent gap in these growing fields by inviting young women to learn STEM concepts and apply them to social good problems. SG4SG has a cascading mentorship model, bringing together professionals and university students with STEM backgrounds to engage the next generation.

The signature program for SG4SG is a week-long, hands-on learning experience. Each summer, more than 50 middle school and high school-aged girls from Washington, DC, join our employees and the firm’s Summer Games interns for one week of immersion in STEM.

Past participants tackled challenges ranging from human trafficking to food deserts. Using STEM disciplines, participants have explored the intersection of cybersecurity and safety; learned to identify zip codes that lack access to affordable, healthy food options; and used predictive modeling to study human trafficking patterns.

Exposure to real-world challenges

The 2018 program, focused on public health safety, features an exciting new element: It’s in partnership with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Throughout the course of the week, participants have the opportunity to visit multiple FDA sites to learn about topics like clinical drug development, biotechnology, and regulation of color additives.

Through SG4SG, participants are exposed to the full lifecycle of problem solving, from deconstructing a challenge to designing and building a solution. Along the way, they’re discovering interesting aspects of the FDA’s work in keeping the public safe, including biopharmacology, paper chromatography, and proper lab techniques.

Female leaders from Booz Allen and the FDA are joining participants as "She-E-Os" for the day, sharing their STEM career experiences and providing an overview of the possibilities for a future in STEM. As Principal Velma Deleveaux said in sharing her STEM journey with the participants, “I want you to know and believe that you are the future rocket scientist, engineer, biologist.”

Cheryl Wade, head of diversity and inclusion and co-creator of SG4SG, said, “In just 5 years, SG4SG has introduced more than 200 middle and high school-aged girls to STEM concepts and empowered them to explore social good problems from new angles. This innovative initiative breaks down barriers, builds confidence, and shows the next generation of STEM women leaders what’s possible for them.”

Millennial Project Program Manager Alexé Weymouth, a SG4SG co-creator, added, “It is imperative for the U.S. economy that the next wave of STEM professionals not only have mentors ahead of them but that they continue to encourage the talent pipeline coming up behind them. We want these girls and women to know that their unique perspective as women is needed across the STEM fields and that Booz Allen is one place where their ideas and experience are valued.”

To see photos from past SG4SG events, click here.