CWEALF Receives Funding From Farmington Bank Community Foundation to Support Girls & STEM Work

The Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF) has been awarded a $2000 grant from the Farmington Bank Community Foundation to support their Generating Girls Opportunities (G2O) Initiative.
 
G2O is an initiative through CWEALF’s Research & Evaluation Program, which was designed to engage girls, parents and teachers in girls’ educational opportunities in science, technology, engineer and math (STEM).  This is done primarily through Girls & STEM Expos, a series of one-day events strategically formulated to promote middle and high school girls’ interest in STEM education and careers.  The G2O Initiative has proven to be  a powerful tool.  Over the past ten (10) years, CWEALF has implemented over 40 Expos and involved more than 4000 middle school girls and teachers from schools across Connecticut.
 
In the spring of 2014, CWEALF will conduct middle and high school Girls & STEM Expos for over 500 students and their  teachers across Connecticut.  Expos are held directly on college campuses to allow girls the opportunity to experience what it would be like to study these careers in college as well as meet female students and professors in the STEM fields that can serve as mentors.  The grant from the Farmington Bank Community Foundation will support the Expos at the University of Saint Joseph, Central Connecticut State University, and the Connecticut Science Center for female students attending from the surrounding towns.  
 
CWEALF was awarded this grant through the Farmington Bank Community Foundation’s Economic Empowerment focus because G2O intersects with CWEALF’s larger work on women’s financial empowerment and specifically, the gender wage gap, an important issue for women today.  Through G2O, CWEALF provides greater accessibility and exposure to STEM for the students, contributing to their individual success in STEM and the greater success of decreasing occupation segregation and the gender wage gap.  Specifically, the Girls & STEM Expos create an environment that piques the interest of girls’ to pursue STEM education and careers by intervening at an early age.
 
CWEALF’s Girls & STEM Expos feature highly interactive workshops led by STEM professionals.  Past Expos have offered students workshops like “How to Design a Bridge”, which showcased how to build truss bridges using publicly available software.  CWEALF is always seeking individuals to help design and lead workshops as well as be on-hand support during the day of the Expo.  Anyone interested in getting involved or finding out more about CWEALF or the G2O Initiative, can visit www.girlsopp.org or contact the CWEALF office at 860.247.6090.