For students, by students.

founded in 2017 by high schoolers from The Athenian School, WiSE (Women in Science & Engineering) is an annual event for girls of all ages to explore STEM in a fun, hands-on way.

In recent years, a spotlight has been placed upon the disparity between the number of men and women in STEM fields— but we often forget about how pervasive this issue is within our own communities.

After surveying students of The Athenian School, we found that out of the 185 respondents, 50.7% of male respondents felt “Very Represented” in STEM, whereas only 10.7% of female respondents believed that their gender was “Very Represented” in our school’s STEM programs. After further investigation, we found that what harms girls the most is the lack of both confidence and exposure to these STEM disciplines. Studies have shown that women are impacted much more severely by failure than men; failure negatively affects their confidence and drive to continue.

Women are also hit hard by gender stereotypes and a lack of role models that lead them to believe that they can not succeed in STEM. That’s where WiSE comes in— our event uses science-based principles to provide open-ended opportunity, exploration, and a diverse set of female mentors who can inspire the young women around them.

This year, WiSE hopes to expand its impact. We hope that together we can start a revolution in STEM.