Grant to help support girls in STEM – UPMatters.com

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MICHIGAN -- The Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH) has been awarded a two-year grant from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for their project Michigan Youth (MY) Girls Say.

This project offers holistic programming to K-12 self-identified girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to cultivate personal advocacy and resilience.

Gender based discrimination is pervasive in STEM academia and workforce. Without a foundation of personal empowerment, girls will abandon the STEM field. Taryn Gal, Managing Director at MOASH said STEM programming prepares students for success in many areas, but it does not prepare girls for a future in a field that is predominantly male. Research shows that it is not lack of interest, relevant education, or ability that accounts for a low percentage of women in STEM professions, but an adverse learning and working culture of sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination that girls are not prepared to navigate and challenge.

Participants in MY Girls Say will learn concrete skills, understand their rights, and recognize the strength in their whole selves to demand and achieve equitable treatment in a male-dominated STEM field.

Awarded early last month through the Community Action Grant from AAUW, MOASH has already begun its work connecting with committed project partners including AAUW of Michigan, Females Excelling More in Math Engineering and the Sciences (FEMMES), Phi Sigma Rho, Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan, Stop Sexual Assault in Schools, and a certified mindfulness and yoga instructor.

On July 16, MOASH coordinated its first MY Girls Say workshop about combating gender expectations and understanding TItle IX with an Ann Arbor Daisy Girl Scouts troop of girls 6-9 years old.

Throughout the next two years, MOASH will implement workshops on Title IX, spearhead self-advocacy training, and coordinate gender-embodiment yoga sessions.

Project partners will help ensure the development and widespread dispersal of effective materials to girls across Ann Arbor and other areas in Southeast Michigan. Components of MY Girls Say are youth-informed and/or youth-led.

Prior to MOASHs MY Girls Say program, there was no holistic approach to empowering girls in STEM to challenge future gender discrimination and few opportunities for girls in Michigan to receive Title IX education.

MY Girls Say has the potential to transform the way girls view their potential, their education, as well as their community. Those who wish to follow MOASHs progress on this project are directed to sign up for the MOASH e-newsletter and to like MOASHs Facebook page to stay informed.