PORT ISABEL, Texas - The Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation is presenting the 3rd Annual GIRLS in STEM Conference in Port Isabel on Friday, October 11.
The event is for high school and middle school girls studying STEM subjects and having an interest in pursuing a career in a STEM occupation, such as a math or science field or one of the many types of engineering fields.
Kathryn Lueders, general manager of SpaceX’s Starbase at Boca Chica, Texas, will be the keynote speaker. Also speaking will be a group of women engineers flying in from NASA.
Diane Milliken Garza, PhD, CEO of the Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic Foundation, said the gender gap in STEM representation starts early, with more boys than girls interested in STEM related jobs as early as middle school. She says women are also underrepresented in STEM majors in college, especially in engineering in computer science.
“Women make up a smaller percentage of STEM jobs than the overall workforce. And in 2023 women made up just 28 percent of the STEM workforce in the United States. For women of color, the percentage is even smaller,” Milliken Garza told Ron Whitlock Reports.
Milliken Garza said the conference is going to be “a really great thing for our girls.” She said she is thrilled to have Lueders and the NASA women engineers appearing at the conference.
“The speakers will be telling their own personal stories of making their way through male dominated educational programs and then into the workforce,” Milliken Garza said.
The GIRLS in STEM Conference will be hosted at Point Isabel High School, starting at 9:00 a.m.
Milliken Garza said she expects over 700 students to attend, including representation from McAllen ISD, Brownsville ISD, and Matamoros’ St. George Prep.
