Our Mission and Vision

Girlstart’s mission is to empower girls through STEM. We envision a future where all who identify as girls believe they can change their world through STEM. We are a national women-led organization, offering year-round out-of-school STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programming for girls in grades 4-8 in Texas, California, Massachusetts, and other locations across the country.

 

Founded in 1997, Girlstart is one of the longest-running programs devoted to empowering girls in STEM. Our comprehensive programs are designed to engage, increase confidence, and introduce STEM careers to girls who have been historically marginalized by providing meaningful, hands-on STEM programming through after school, summer camps, and other community events.

The world’s greatest challenges need new STEM ideas and insights. Yet half of the world’s potential ideamakers—women and girls—are discouraged from developing vital STEM ideas.

We believe that more girls with more ideas will create more solutions to benefit us all.

At Girlstart, we cultivate a culture where risk is rewarded, curiosity is encouraged, and creativity is expected.

Girlstart girls are connected, brave, and resilient. Girlstart makes girls more successful and inspires them to take on the world’s greatest challenges.

 

Through its comprehensive programming, Girlstart provides a year-round, intensive suite of STEM education programs for K-12 girls. Girlstart’s core programs foster STEM skills development, an understanding of the importance of STEM as a way to solve the world’s major problems, as well as an interest in STEM electives, majors, and careers.

Inclusivity Statement

At Girlstart, we take our role as educators very seriously. We believe that education is a human right. Girlstart always seeks to promote access, equity, and inclusiveness, and seeks to discourage discrimination that denies the essential humanity of all people.

Girlstart will only provide programs and accomplish its mission in a manner that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, weight, height, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, disability, or other defining characteristic that may or may not be protected by law.

Our mission is to serve those who identify as girls, who might be discouraged from studying, exploring, or otherwise uninvited to participate in the STEM world. Our programs welcome people who identify as non-binary or gender nonconforming and want to be in a female-identified environment. We are committed to ensuring a safe place for every student as they explore their evolving identities.

Girlstart is further committed to providing a professional environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, Girlstart expects that all relations among staff, board, and community members will be business-like and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. No member of this organization is exempt from this policy.

8% STEM job growth through 2029

 compared to 3.7% for all occupations

Women hold 34% of
STEM jobs

but even fewer in computer science & engineering.

4 out of 5 STEM college students

 decided to study STEM in high school, or even earlier

Growth in STEM jobs is 3x faster

than non-STEM jobs over the past 10 years