There is a movement happening around the world to engage especially young women and girls in STEM industries. Given that our society is only going to continue to innovate, it only makes sense to ensure girls are part of the science, tech, engineering & math industries at the same rate as boys.

Right now there is a substantial gender gap, most notably in the tech world. In the US, the home to tech mecca Silicon Valley, there are a number of major tech companies whose data reveals women make up an average of only 30{1e5b5b8455e4fd0a501a0ba32c7b6cedbd9d99491662a4a0878218331661888d} of staff, and that number decreases when you look at specific leadership or engineering positions.

The lack of gender diversity becomes even more pertinent when we see the rate of demand for tech jobs is growing, but the positions are not being filled at an adequate rate in certain areas. Thankfully we are seeing a number of brands such as Google who have launched a number of initiatives to get girls excited about learning coding.

And smaller organizations such as Beverly Bond’s Black Girls Code, and Reshma Saujani’sGirls Who Code are getting in at the grass roots level while girls are in elementary school so they can be introduced to engineering and coding from a young age.

It’s not just brands and companies who recognize the need, there are everyday women who want to be part of the momentum to balance the gender scales in an industry that has been male-dominated since its inception. This Chicago mom turned her daughter’s love of science into a reason to serve low-income minority girls in her community to give them a chance to compete in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.