Empowering Girls Through Social Justice STEAM

K-12 STEAM education

Central LA East LA South LA County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Girl-identifying youth from marginalized communities throughout Los Angeles County—primarily Black and Brown girls from low-income neighborhoods have historically experienced significant educational and economic inequities. Schools in low-income neighborhoods frequently need more resources and advanced coursework to prepare students for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Women are vastly underrepresented in STEAM jobs and among STEAM degree holders, despite making up nearly half of the US college-educated workforce and holding less than 28% of STEAM jobs. Of the 27% of women in STEAM, 9% are Black, 8% are Latina/Hispanic, 13% are Asian-American/API, and 3% are other or mixed race. Strikingly, less than 3% of marine biologists are Black, and less than 1% are Black Women. EmpowHer programs inspire confidence in girls and expose them to STEAM careers, breaking generational cycles of poverty and contributing to the creation of an equitable society.

Throughout the school year, youth in grades 7-12 participate in weekly 9-month classes integrating social emotional learning, social justice advocacy, STEAM, college/career readiness, and financial literacy. Our proprietary curriculum scaffolds learning as girls progress through the program, including an 8-week Social Justice STEAM module teaching coding, filmmaking, robotics, podcast production, and app development. 8th-9th graders develop projects using STEAM to address social justice issues, presenting to judges. Top 3 finalists per grade advance to our annual Girls to Greatness Teen Summit, where 600+ participants gather for education and celebration, with finalists competing for cash prizes on the mainstage. Our summer programming extends this learning through a five-week Social Justice STEAM Camp, the first, nationwide, of its kind. Session I (7th-10th graders) occurs at USC, featuring marine biology fieldwork at beaches/labs, coding, air quality testing, snorkeling, kayaking, and photojournalism while studying environmental racism. Girls develop coding projects examining climate change's impact on marine ecology and marginalized communities. Session II (7th-12th graders) provides PADI scuba and ASA sailing certifications with year-round diving trips to Catalina Island. Campers completing both sessions participate in an 8-day French Polynesia expedition studying coral reef health alongside scientists across three islands.

Our results are undeniable. 100% of our 8th graders matriculate to high school and 100% of our 12th graders graduate and are accepted to college, with an average of 66% majoring in STEAM careers in college, 100% of our youth learn a new skill, 100% of those who complete Sessions I and II of our Camp have expressed an interest in STEAM careers–primarily marine science, 84% feel more confident and optimistic about their future, and 90% of schools report declined disciplinary actions.
Our long-term vision of success is to change the face of STEAM while also breaking cycles of poverty with socially conscious women STEAM professionals aimed to solve society’s greatest injustices.
Short-term program goals for this grant, include: Serving a minimum of 500 girls and genders expansive youth. 65% of graduating seniors will select a STEAM major, 95% of our 8th graders will matriculate into high school, and 90% of our high schoolers will gain college acceptance.