Dive Brief:

• Oracle recently committed $200 million to support the White House’s Computer Science for All initiative, and it will now donate $3 million to the Let Girls Learn initiative, specifically aimed at expanding access to science, technology, engineering and math instruction for girls worldwide.
• In announcing the commitment, the White House said Oracle will offer more than 65 educational events and reach more than 55,000 girls around the world through computing camps, codefests, workshops and conferences.
• Key collaborations are planned to reach students in Egypt, Vietnam, and California’s Design Tech High School, with additional grant money expected to be distributed in the coming years.

Dive Insight:

For the first time, female students are leading their male counterparts on engineering and tech literacy in the United States, according to recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Early proficiency and interest continues to end in wide gaps between male and female participation in science, technology, engineering and math fields at the college and workplace level. Barely more than a quarter of computer and math jobs are held by women, and they hold less than 20% of computer science degrees.

Many schools are doing their best to get and keep girls interested in STEM fields. With STEM camps, after school clubs, and targeted recruitment and advising, teachers are finding their female students keeping up with their male peers. This progress, however, does take conscientious, strategic actions on the part of school leaders.