Breaking the Myth Around Girls

We love hearing from our participants and delighted to hear how our program has changed their perceptions of themselves and their future.

As our program lead shared in a LinkedIn post, we have managed to break several important myths about young women in STEM.

1. Breaking the myth of timidity

   The small groups allow girls to practice using their voice, and to develop the courage to be wrong. This translates to more assertive behavior in the classroom. Teachers who are not part of our clubs have noted girls’ willingness to speak up in their class, especially during science.

2. Breaking the myth of passivity

   Because of gender expectations and rote learning practices, due to class size and lack of resources, the good (female) student is often seen as the one who nods at the teacher and quietly does the work. At exploratory clubs, girls can’t wait to mix and connect, jostle to see a result, turn around or cross the room to consult with another student.

3. Breaking the myth about girls in Africa

   Though Beatrice, Grace, Makaful, Janet, Elvira and their friends live in a resource-poor communities, we know that with the right learning environment, they can develop the same capacities and aspirations for college and career, as any other girl in the world. Yes, they want to be doctors and pharmacists. More want to be engineers and bank managers after our program.

We hope you will join us in providing more of these opportunities, for them and for the teachers who are the ones creating impact on the ground!