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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Million Women Mentors/ STEMconnector® Science Olympiad Congressional Office (IL-‐8th) Sheila Boyington Jenny Kopach Sarah Keep National Senior Advisor MWM-‐IL State Chair 847.413.1959 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth To Lead Million Women Mentors® Initiative in Illinois as Honorary State Chair
State efforts announced to Advance Girls and Women in STEM WASHINGTON, DC September 17TH – This week, Million Women Mentors is proud to announce Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth (IL-‐8th) as the Honorary Chair of the Illinois state effort. The national goal of the movement is to garner one million mentors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) professions over the next four years to collectively increase the interest and confidence of girls and young women in STEM programs, college majors, apprenticeships and careers. The Inaugural Million Women Mentors Summit will be held in Washington, DC, at the National Press Club on Monday, September 21, 2015. “Our country must seek out highly-‐trained people to meet the growing demand for professionals in STEM-‐related career fields. Women-‐to-‐women mentoring has great potential to increase interest in STEM education with our young women and girls. It also creates access to employment opportunities for women in the state of Illinois while also meeting the personnel needs of its technical sector. I would like to express my continued support for mentoring programs for women and the important services they provide. Additionally, female Veterans are among the best applicants to recruit for STEM positions, offering an array of technical skills and expertise to meet those requirements. As any job applicant knows, it can be difficult to find a position that fits your skills and interests well—that is why professional mentoring is critical.” -‐ Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, MWM-‐Illinois Honorary State Chair According to STEMconnector® research, 71% of jobs in 2018 will require STEM skills, but only 15% of female high school students plan to pursue a college major or career in STEM, compared to 44% of males. However, more than 3 in 4 female students interested in STEM careers who have a mentor feel they will be successful pursuing a STEM career. The time has never been more right to close the STEM gender gap. “We are thrilled to have a leader like Congresswoman Duckworth as our Honorary State Chair. She has exhibited a passion for motivating more young girls to follow pathways to STEM careers and has championed numerous educational programs throughout the state. Congresswoman Duckworth will not only amplify the message of the Million Women Mentors initiative, she will marshal the resources of top corporations and institutions across Illinois. ”
-‐ Jenny Kopach, MWM-‐Illinois State Chair and VP Marketing Communications at Science Olympiad
Illinois is joining approximately 35 states involved with Million Women Mentors by pledging 5,000 mentors. By taking the pledge at www.MillionWomenMentors.org, states, organizations and corporations are committing to mentoring a young woman for a minimum of 20 hours. About Million Women Mentors: Launched on January 8th, 2014, MWM is a national movement of more than 54 national partners, 22 corporate sponsors and 35 state organizations (as of July 2015) supporting the engagement of one million STEM mentors (male and female) to increase the number of girls and women within the school-‐age to work-‐age continuum who persist and succeed in STEM programs and careers. For more information, visit www.MillionWomenMentors.org. About STEMconnector®: STEMconnector® is a consortium of more than 110 companies, associations, academic institutions and government entities concerned with STEM education and the future of human capital. STEMconnector® focuses on the STEM workforce and jobs, with an emphasis on diversity and women. Its work spans the pipeline from Kindergarten to Jobs and supports STEM education experiences that translate into careers. For more information, visit www.STEMconnector.org. About Science Olympiad: Science Olympiad is a Chicago-‐area based, national non-‐profit organization founded in 1984 dedicated to improving the quality of K-‐12 STEM education, increasing male, female and minority interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. More than 220,000 students and 35,000 teachers on 7,400 teams from all 50 states competed in 400 regional, state and national Science Olympiad tournaments last year. A signature program started in 2007, the Science Olympiad Urban Schools Initiative, provides schools with minority enrollment the additional training and resources needed for students and teachers to succeed in Science Olympiad’s hands-‐on STEM competitions. For more information, visit www.soinc.org.
