By Meridith Orr, Program Executive

Studies of women and girls’ participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and careers is making headlines. Recently a story on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition explored how having so few women enrolled in STEM majors in college actually creates fewer opportunities for young women to feel confident in pursuing a STEM-related career.

The reason? A study at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst found that women who participate in STEM groups alongside other women feel more confident, energized and interested in pursuing a STEM career than in settings when they are the only woman in a group or in the minority.

In “Generation STEM: What Girls Say about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math,” the Girl Scout Research Institute found that “girls who are interested in STEM are high achievers who have supportive adult networks and are exposed to STEM fields.” The report…