Science Club for Girls (SCFG) fosters excitement, confidence, and literacy in STEM for girls and gender-expansive youth from underrepresented communities by providing free, experiential programs and by maximizing meaningful interactions with women-in-STEM mentors. With women making up less than 26 percent of the STEM workforce—and Black and Hispanic women at less than 4 percent—SCFG addresses a critical need, offering a continuum of engaging activities in STEM for K-8 girls, junior mentoring and leadership experiences for high school girls, and adult mentoring and role modeling by committed women with STEM careers.

Science Club for Girls reduces barriers to access, improves girls’ attitudes toward STEM, increases academic confidence, and bolsters resilience through programs that support girls’ social/emotional development. SCFG was founded in 1994 by two mothers concerned about gender, racial, and socioeconomic equity in STEM education. Since then, SCFG has served over 5,000 girls and become a leader in experiential STEM learning and girls programming and mentoring.

With support from the Hestia Foundation, SCFG continues to expand in the Greater Boston area with its K-12 continuum of high-quality, mentor-led, free STEM programs. SCFG prioritizes serving girls and gender-expansive youth most underrepresented in STEM in higher education disciplines and careers by income, race, and by being first generation college-bound. SCFG’s programs and ongoing campaign to “transform the face of STEM”––implemented in collaboration with myriad partners in Greater Boston’s STEM ecosystem––are shifting the narrative both for girls and for our culture as a whole—expanding horizons, defying stereotypes, breaking down barriers, and reengineering not only the future of the STEM workforce but also the trajectory of thousands of girls’ lives.