Written by Trinity Nguyen and Adelle Yong
Full of passion and empowerment, G. STAR, short for Girls in Science, Technology, and Research, was founded in 2019 at Westlake High School for the purpose of encouraging females of all ages to follow their dreams of pursuing a profession in a STEAM field. The organization welcomes anyone interested in the field with open arms, but their target demographic is girls. This initiative to encourage girls to pursue a STEAM career is necessary, considering that data from the National Science Board of Science and Engineering Indicators (NSBSE) shows that only 28% of women are currently working in a STEAM field compared to a whopping 72% of men. Another statistic from AllTogether further confirms that “women only hold 26% of all STEM jobs.” It is clear that the STEAM field is largely dominated by men, and the scarcity of women in such an influential domain is disheartening for young girls who want to delve into a career in STEAM. Without the proper encouragement and a support network, these young girls may begin to doubt themselves or even lose interest altogether in STEAM.
G. STAR’s mission statement, according to G. STAR founder Adelle Yong, is “to show the girls growing up and the people around us that we, as girls, have the capabilities to shape the world to become a better place regardless of our gender through studying science, technology, and research.” She added that when developing G. STAR, she wanted to “help females improve their careers and confidence in their everyday lives” and her big goal is to “[make] a positive difference in other's lives and [celebrate] their uniqueness.” Yong is passionate about female representation in STEAM, and it is clear with her persistent quest of community outreach and education that she is doing what she said she would: “[helping] girls see STEAM in a whole new light — as a medium for self-expression, and as a means for changing the world.”
G. STAR is working to create an environment to “[equip] girls to navigate gender, economic, and social barriers and grow into healthy, educated, and independent adults,” and the organization plans on doing a number of things to challenge these gender biases. Yong and her just-as-zealous team are planning to “increase the participation of girls in STEAM classrooms, from kindergarten to university, and increase the number of women in STEAM fields.” G. STAR looks to recruit young girls because “girls are being dissuaded early on, and, even if their interest remains, data shows they are still not choosing to pursue those areas of study.” They plan to tackle this situation by “[encouraging] girls to get involved in growing the next generation of STEM ladies by [developing] young women and [preparing] them for strong future careers.”
Not only that, G. STAR makes it clear that they also work “to foster a love of STEM for girls in underrepresented communities.” They emphasize the representation of minorities in an already underrepresented subject, with group member Trinity Nguyen weighing in on the situation saying, “Representation is important, and we want to do that with females in all communities. We welcome everyone. No matter what their circumstances are.” They also strive to create a comforting community by “[supporting] those who have been brought down by individuals who have not been supportive of their career in STEAM.”
G. STAR hopes to see girls from everywhere become as enthusiastic and passionate about STEAM as they are, and they strive to create a supportive community that focuses on nurturing the precious eagerness overflowing within these dreamers.
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