The vision of the project was a society in which girls confidently lead in STEM entrepreneurship and contribute to their community and the economy. The main objectives of this project were: 1. Promote access to and retention of women in STEM higher education at all levels. 2. Promote gender equality in career progression for scientists and engineers. 3. Change perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, social norms and stereotypes towards women in STEM in society.
The vision of the project was a society in which girls confidently lead in STEM entrepreneurship and contribute to their community and the economy. Identified problem: Underrepresentation of women and girls in STEM is a deeply rooted and complex social problem. Recent research and real-world initiatives have shown that there are ways to reduce gender bias, increase the perceived and actual social relevance of STEM, and ultimately increase women’s sense of belonging in these fields. In the report on Women and STEM in Europe and Central Asia, released in 2021 by the Word Bank Group, the authors made a systematic review on 21 articles, and concluded that there are several answers to the question: What works? Mostly, it is: the education domain of female teachers; exposing girls to nontraditional or gender-neutral roles in the learning environment; and female peer mentoring. We were using this and similar research to make a unique approach in our project. Final goal of the project and our motivation was to have more girls and young women in the STEM subject studies, using the activities and results within this project.