WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), co-chair and co-founder of the Senate Women in STEM Caucus, participated in an event with the Girl Scouts of the USA about their ongoing work to build a STEM pipeline for K-8 girls. During the event, Senator Capito highlighted her advocacy to make STEM education more accessible for young girls and encouraged more girls to pursue careers in STEM fields.
Girl Scouts CEO Bonnie Barczykwoski, Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten, and Department of Education (DOE) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly were also in attendance and participated in a panel discussion to help kick off the first Women in STEM Caucus event of this year.
“STEM fields are where the in-demand jobs are right now, and it’s where they will be in the future. That’s why it’s important we do what we can to encourage the next generation to get excited and involved in this field,” Senator Capito said. “I thank the Girl Scouts for teaming up with our STEM Caucus efforts and helping us to inspire that next generation to lead and grow as engaged citizens. Now is the time to help future female leaders in STEM blaze a new trail and I am excited to see what the girls here today, and girls all across our country, can accomplish.”
“I was tremendously inspired after meeting with Girl Scouts from across the country as well as their national leaders and fellow supporters Senator Rosen, Senator Capito, and Deputy Education Secretary Marten to talk about how critical it is to get more young women involved in STEM,” Jen Easterly, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said. “At a time when technology continues to transform the way we live, work and learn, the need to close the STEM gender gap is more critical than ever. We need their creativity, their passion, and their imagination in the technology workforce. As the Director of the Nation’s Cyber Defense Agency, I’m committed to close this gap and look forward to working with the Girl Scouts, Congress, and our partners across government to bring more girls and women into cybersecurity.”
“At Girl Scouts, we inspire girls to think big and imagine all the good they can do with a strong foundation in STEM—from discovering treatments for chronic diseases to creating sustainable energy solutions and addressing cybersecurity threats,” Bonnie Barczykowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, said. “We are so grateful to Senators Rosen and Capito for their leadership and attention to this issue so we are able to build the curious and confident STEM superstars of tomorrow.”
BACKGROUND:
In November of 2021, Senators Capito Rosen launched the Senate’s first Women in STEM Caucus, a bipartisan group that works to advance women’s participation in science, technology, engineering, and math education and careers.
Since joining the Senate, Senator Capito has strongly advocated for more female involvement in STEM fields through legislative efforts. Additionally, as West Virginia’s first female U.S. Senator, Senator Capito launched a female empowerment program known as, West Virginia Girls Rise Up, which inspires the next generation of female leaders through education, physical fitness, and self-confidence. Since launching, Senator Capito has hosted several STEM-focused Girls Rise Up events with NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson, IBM, and NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara.
Additionally, Senators Capito and Rosen teamed up on bipartisan legislation, Building Blocks of STEM Act, which was signed into law in 2019. Specifically, this law:
- Provides research grants through the National Science Foundation (NSF) to increase understanding of the factors that contribute to the participation of young girls in STEM activities, study the barriers to engaging young girls in STEM, and develop strategies for prekindergarten and elementary school educators to increase the participation of young girls in computer science.
- Enhances support for early childhood STEM education within an NSF research program that seeks to improve PreK-12 STEM education and teaching.
- Helps increase the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM fields.
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