Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WI) is partnering with Hawaii?s Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) to encourage women and girls in rural areas into science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. The partnership?s mission is to:
? Ensure that women and girls, especially in rural areas, have more opportunities to be engaged in STEM education and careers ? Develop program models that can be adopted in the future by other institutions
The Wisconsin and MEDB Women in Technology (WIT) projects are funded in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.), Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Hawaii and Wisconsin are the only states that are involved in the program at this time. The flagship Women in Technology Project was launched in 2000 by the MEDB in Hawaii to help educate, support and retain local women as part of the STEM workforce. In Wisconsin, the WIT program is administered by MSOE.
Forming partnerships with industry, educational institutions, government agencies and youth-serving organizations is a key strategy for the WIT program. Other approaches include proven outreach programs such as job shadowing, career days, science camps, and mentoring, as well as apprenticeships and training designed to engage female students from middle school through college. Through gender equity workshops, WIT offers tools to educators and the industry to overcome the barriers that have created the chilly climate for women.
Mentoring has been an important engagement strategy. Therefore, WIT-MEDB successfully negotiated for the use of MentorNet, an award winning online mentoring program that links undergraduate and graduate students with professionals in the industry, government and higher education. Through a WIT grant, students enrolled in Wisconsin universities are able to participate in a proven, supportive, and effective retention program.
This paper describes a collaboration model in a targeted rural area that WIT-WI is using to encourage organizations to promote the relevance of STEM fields for girls and young women, provide opportunities for them to explore STEM, and provide mentoring and feasibility for women to pursue college degrees in STEM.
