AAUW opporunities

FMF just got a hot tip on some great opportunities from our friends at AAUW and wanted to pass it on to you. We hope that these leadership projects spark your imaginations and get you revved up to jump on board!

Feel free to take a closer look at these fantastic links. Deadlines are fast approaching; don’t let these chances slip away!

*AAUW Campus Action Projects (CAP) - Campus Action Projects enable student leaders and campus faculty to design and implement effective programs that enhance campus offerings, promote leadership, and improve academic and career outcomes. 2009-10 applications are available with a submission deadline of October 16, 2009.

*National Student Advisory Council (SAC) - SAC student leaders give AAUW advice and implementation strategies on programming of interest for young women and girls, build relationships with local AAUW branches, lead campus events that promote women’s equity, and help plan and implement NCCWSL activities. 2009-10 applications are available with a submission deadline of September 30, 2009.

*Campaign College - Campaign College is the only program in the country that trains college women to run for student government. Last spring, AAUW conducted two successful pilot trainings in partnership with the American University Women & Politics Institute and Running Start. Applications are available with a submission deadline of October 16, 2009.

photocredit to ricklibrarian on Flickr.com

Women in Science - NASA's Jill McGuire

Every morning, the DC metro area National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, WAMU, is what wakes me up when my alarm clock radio goes off. As a result, the other organizers have grown accustomed to me relating the little tidbits I learn every morning. "This morning on NPR there was this really interesting story on (insert factoid, current event, local politics, etc. here)..."

Well. My feminist self got a thrill yesterday morning, as I stumbled around my apartment getting ready. I was listening to a story about preparations being made for a repair mission to the Hubble Telescope, and how they need all these various special tools to repair the aging telescope in zero g's, extreme temps, etc. Come to find out, the manager of the team that creates all these clever gizmos and gadgets is a woman named Jill McGuire!

So I started thinking about something we don't talk about enough - Women (and Girls!) in STEM fields - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Though these fields have been non-traditionally 'female' sectors, there's been some promising growth in recent years. Thanks to some friends at AAUW, I drummed up some research and information I'd like to share!

Some stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show differences in participation between women and men among some related categories: in computer and mathematical occupations, women make up only 24.8% of jobs in that field. Architecture and engineering is even lower, with women holding only 13.5% of jobs. In life, physical, and social science occupations, women seem to be doing better at 46.1%, although there are considerable differences within that category.

Fortunately, some progress has been made. From 1985-2005, the percentage of women earning degrees in STEM fields increased in nearly every category, with the exception of computer science.

It's really great to see women breaking into new fields and taking leadership there - whether it's at NASA or in your high school physics lab! If you're a woman in a STEM field, please comment below about your experience.

If you're interested in learning more about Women in STEM, AAUW and their partners are collaborating on the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) to bring together organizations that are committed to informing and encouraging girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Definitely check it out and forward the information on to any people or programs you know that might be interested!

Thanks so much to Nicole Callahan and the other folks at AAUW for all their help with collecting some information for this post.