Change a girl, change the world.
#1MillionGirlsinSTEM is our 10-year global campaign, initiated in 2017, to reach 1 million girls (aged 13 – 18) through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and awareness initiatives. This programme is in collaboration with UNESCO.
Durban, South Africa
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Musina, South Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa
Windhoek, Namibia
Johannesburg, South Africa
Paris, France
Didcot, United Kingdom
Mangochi, Malawi
Jwaneng, Botswana
Through the #1MIllionGirlsInSTEM campaign, WomEng commits to reaching 1 millions girls with the intention to create awareness and provide information about STEM related careers.
WomEng tested a hypothesis, in order to develop more women in engineering; one would need to provide role models, awareness and opportunity for young girls. Since 2010, the GirlEng programme has been inspiring high school girls, with a number of girls graduating as engineers from the programme. Inspired by the GirlEng experience and the last 10 years where WomEng has built sustainable pipelines of women in engineering by investing in girls in STEM and developing, mentoring and supporting them through their engineering journey, WomEng has begun to scale efforts across Africa and now worldwide, showcasing the global phenomenon of the skills deficit. This provided the foundation for the bold idea to inspire and impact 1 million girls through our STEM education initiatives across the world.
The overall objective is to increase the number of girls entering the engineering and technology industry. This is underpinned by:
Improving access to information for girls around STEM.
Gamification of engineering projects for girls to learn through play.
Provide access to mentors and support networks to help girls succeed.
Provide role models and career guidance for girls.
Change perceptions around engineering and technology and make these more accessible to girls.
The symbol of the campaign is WomEng’s trademark pink hard hat, taking a commonplace artefact representing the traditionally male dominated industry, and “feminizing” it. The philosophy behind the pink hard hat is to fight a stereotype with a stereotype, and therein change the age-old perception of the engineering industry.
The #1MIllionGirlsInSTEM campaign is a key component of WomEng’s efforts to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. By investing in girls education and creating gender equity, especially in emerging markets like Africa where we see the greatest gender divide, but the biggest opportunity to leverage engineering and technology to grow the continent. WomEng is determined to change the status quo of girls for the benefit of all.
Get Involved.
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Invest in her future.
Donate a WomEng toolkit that includes the GirlEng Guide to Becoming an Engineer and career mapping resources to inspire her to be a change-maker in her community. Donate directly or start your own crowdfunding campaign.
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Be a role model.
Become a role model by featuring on our website, social media platforms and GirlEng Guides. We have put together a list of frequently asked questions from high school girls across the world. Help us help them with career advice.
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Join our community of change-makers.
Our #1MillionGirlsinSTEM Ambassadors are independent self-starters that are using established and new networks and relationships to continuously grow #1MillionGirlsinSTEM awareness initiatives in their communities.
Our #1MillionGirlsinSTEM Ambassadors.
