Our pitch:
Across the board globally, we are a world in progress, collectively moving forward towards gender equality. So why then are there are fewer women in tech now, than there was 30 years ago?
According to a recent study in 2017 by Microsoft; 11,500 women and girls between the ages of 11 and 30 were surveyed and 60% said they would feel more confident pursuing Careers in STEM if they knew men and women were equally employed in those professions. Every girl regardless of her background should have free access to knowledge and resources that help her find her path and be empowered through education.
There is a need for young girls to see diverse and accomplished women role models not just in their community but around the world; especially those in the STEM Field. Many studies have shown that boys and girls are equal in performance and interest in math and science up until 4th and 5th grades when girls start to fall behind in these subjects. With the lack of women role models in STEM, girls cannot see the possibility of who they can become.
Career Girls videos is a, non-commercial career exploration tool for girls to develop the dynamic and adaptable skills they need to pave their way to a successful STEM career through visibility of powerful role models and lessons. We work to support educators at various schools across the USA in developing soft skills, fostering interest in STEM, critical thinking, and diverse skill building. We team up with teachers and mentors and provide them with free, girl-centric lesson plans developed by experienced curriculum writers and in alignment with Common Core Standards. Each of the 22 Empowerment Lesson Plans explores a particular career, or develops a specific career-readiness skill set, from “Importance of Math,” to “Developing Writing Skills” to “Teamwork”, and we’ve curated these soft skill lesson plans to center around what girls need to pursue a career in STEM.
Career Girls is founded on the dream that every girl around the world has access to diverse and accomplished women role models to learn from their experiences and discover their own path to empowerment. Talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not. Career Girls is creating a powerful opportunity for girls that they may not have had to build soft skills, explore careers in STEM and close the imagination gap for girls around the world. Our content is accessible to everyone, and is available through offline digital learning through the Kolibri and RACHEL server.
Watch our elevator pitch:
Where our solution team is headquartered or located:
San Francisco, CA, USAThe dimensions of the Challenge our solution addresses:
What makes our solution innovative:
We use our video platform to allow girls access and visibility to real women.
With visibility to role models, these girls can see women in real life, give them a context for academic subjects that teachers are trying to impart.
We utilize video as a way teaching tool for girls, teachers and parents to close the imagination gap for girls around with world, with our videos and online resources available offline on the RACHEL
How technology is integral to our solution:
We use technology in a way that is different than a simple how to video. We provide an organic connection for girls. When a girl is able to see someone and hear someone who looks like her, in a field she can see that she can be that, she can have that career.
A girl cannot be what she cannot see, with Career Girls both online and offline gives girls visibility and accessibility to a video platform that shows them they can be anything.
Our solution goals over the next 12 months:
By using out platform to cover topics that relate to a specific career or field, such as "Why Choose STEM" and career centered empowerment lessons/ career exploration, we are supporting seeding imaginations with those different types of careers. For example, we show girls jobs that they had no idea they could do, and we help teachers by speaking with our role models about the direct applicability of certain subjects in their work, particularly math and science.
Our vision over the next three to five years to grow and scale our solution to affect the lives of more people:
We hope to increase visibility and promote resources and role models to young girls to promote STEM learning and be a factor towards generational change to gender equality and women in STEM. Hearing a professional woman architect say “I use geometry everyday” gives girls tangibility and context in their studies. We also have a production designer role model who speaks to how she uses math everyday to build sets.
Our promotional video:
The key characteristics of the populations who will benefit from our solution in the next 12 months:
The regions where we will be operating in the next 12 months:
How we will reach and retain our customers or beneficiaries:
We are accessible online at careergirls.org and actively attend elementary schools, events and career fairs to reach teachers and gatekeepers to young girls to show them our resources and how to use them. We have plans for a easily accessible Career Girls Day and Career Girls Club for schools.
How many people we are currently serving with our solution:
In 2015, Career Girls passed the one-million views milestone on our YouTube channel. Today, that number is well over two million and growing each day. Career Girls has also expanded its reach to more than 230 countries, with more than 5.5 million page views.
How many people we will be serving with our solution in the 12 months and the next 3 years:
While we don't collect data as the safety and privacy of young girls is one of our strongest values, we have over 2,294,503 views on our Role Model videos and over 50, 000 site visits monthly.
We hope to use our new technology to make ourselves available to every girl in the world both online and offline. Our goal is to close the imagination gap for girls around the world and provide the resources teachers need to show their students, that they can be anything.
How our solution team is organized:
Non-ProfitHow many people work on our solution team:
4How many years we have been working on our solution:
5-10 yearsThe skills our solution team has that will enable us to attract the different resources needed to succeed and make an impact:
Career Girls is proud to have a group of dedicated, all-volunteer community leaders on our team, serving on our Board of Directors and School Counselors Advisory Board, and as Special Advisors and Contributors. These members of the Career Girls team donate their expertise and time to advance the mission of Career Girls, championing our dream to give girls around the world access to diverse and accomplished women role models and to support them in discovering their own path to empowerment.
Our revenue model:
We currently are primarily self funded and receive donations from our supportive community.
We have recently opened ourselves up to outside funding in the form of grants, we have a low cost of operation and hope to continue to have support through grants, and donors to continue operating as a non-profit and helping girls.
Why we are applying to Solve:
We are applying to Solve because we see correlating values and missions. We know that one of the many goals as an educator is to guide students on the path to a successful future. In support of this, research shows that women role models have a powerful and positive impact on girls, including their attitudes toward STEM fields. We want to use our technology to help teachers and work towards gender equality. Visibility and resources support make that happen. We have a large collection of wonderful MIT Role Models on our platform.
The key barriers for our solution:
Career Girls makes it easy to integrate access to role models for girls into everyday classroom experiences. Career Girls is a no-cost, high-quality platform that introduces girls to hundreds of inspiring role models and their careers. The Career Girls website is ad-free, keeping the focus on connecting girls with role models who can help them realize their potential, aim high, and discover their own path to empowerment.
We need help in visibility to educators knowing that we exist, that we can help and will help as research has shown.
The types of connections and partnerships we would be most interested in if we became Solvers:
Solution Team
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LC
Linda Calhoun Founder and Executive Producer, Career Girls
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Our tagline:
Closing the Imagination Gap for Girls Around the World.