According to "Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics," a 2010 study by the American Association of University Women, women have surpassed men in the number of both bachelor's and graduate degrees earned, yet remain outnumbered in the science, technology, engineering and math fields, earning only 20 percent of related bachelor's degrees.
The Chicago Tribune caught up recently with Maria Wynne, CEO, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. "I think it will take a concerted effort to ensure that we change this," says Wynne, whose organization offers badges for girls who master money counting, computer proficiency and chemistry projects. "We expose them early on to science and technology and engineering and math as concepts, without labeling them as such."
She also relates that food is a great place to start, whether you're baking with your child (measuring, using proportions, adding fractions), grocery shopping (counting products, adding up the bill) or something slightly less conventional.
What are your methods for getting girls interested in science, technology, engineering and math?