A Guide to Bridging the Gender Gap

Historically, women have been systematically excluded from higher education. Although we’ve made great progress in opening education to women in recent decades, there is still a great deal of work that remains to be done. This is especially true in the STEM fields, which see a great imbalance of male to female students compared to other college degree programs. Take a look at the resources below for STEM opportunities in Utah for girls and women. 

Women Tech Council’s SheTech program is the largest industry-led STEM program to activate, engage and inspire high school girls into STEM degrees and successful careers with over 12,000 participants. SheTech demonstrates to girls that no matter what they are passionate about, technology is part of it. 

Girls Who Code is working to change the future of female coding. Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Girls Who Code Clubs can be found across the state and support junior and high school girls who are interested in computer science pathways and careers.

For more than seven decades, Society of Women Engineers has given women engineers a unique place and voice within the engineering industry. Local chapters can be found at colleges and universities statewide. For middle and high school students, you can contact utah.swenext@gmail.com or find more info at @utah.swenext on Instagram. This program helps to support girls who have an interest in robotics and engineering and provides near peer mentoring for high school girls.

National Center for Women and Information Technology leverages resources from their Aspirations in Computing program that uses prestigious awards, scholarships, internships, and professional opportunities to amplify voices, build identity, reward persistence, and recognize fortitude as high school and undergraduate young women increase their technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills. 

Tech-Moms is dedicated to helping women transition into tech and achieve long-term success in their careers. They offer part-time technical skills course, professional networking, and a broad range of career exploration through guest speakers. Tech-Moms has built an incredible community of women who celebrate and support each other.

Rosie Project, affiliated with Hill Air Force Base and Weber State University, provides free education and training programs that help to remove barriers to entry for military spouses as the need for information technology and cyber security specialists grows. 

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