Women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce but only 34% of the science and engineering workforce. In 2020, women's earnings ranged from 78 percent to 81 percent of men's among workers aged 35 and older. Although there are relatively high shares of women in the social sciences (65%) and life sciences (48%), they are extremely underrepresented in physical sciences (25%), computer and mathematical sciences (26%), and engineering (16%). While Black, Hispanic/Latina, and Indigenous women make up approximately 17% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020), they earn 14% of the bachelor's degrees in STEM fields and represent less than 10% of the STEM workforce. In addition, women who do enter STEM fields have lower median earnings than men in STEM professions overall, and there remains a lack of women in senior leadership positions. Many women are disproportionately excluded from high-paying sectors, and these sectors are deprived of their diverse perspectives and experiences. In 2029, women’s and girls’ organizations received nearly $8 billion in philanthropic support or less than 2% of overall charitable giving. 

The National Girls Collaborative Project held a national convening on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, which brought together stakeholders and thought leaders for a candid conversation that created an action agenda for accelerating solutions to make real progress.

We look forward to distributing a report from this meeting in late February of 2024.  To learn more, please contact: kpeterson@ngcproject.org.