News/Research

International Day of the Girl and the Ongoing Need for More Girls in STEM Fields

10 Oct, 2012

International Day of the Girl and the Ongoing Need for More Girls in STEM Fields

The first International Day of the Girl will be celebrated on Oct. 11. CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative Director, Camille Crittenden wrote for the Huffington Post on Tuesday to advocate for continued efforts to bring girls into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

"Despite recent publications declaring the "end of men," evidence shows that continued investment in education for girls (and equality for women) is needed, right, and smart."

Crittenden points out the need for outreach both domestically and internationally. She cites multiple diversity programs that that aim to increase enrollment of women and under-represented minorities at the college level. However, there is also a need for education and engagement starting with girls at the K-12 level, she says.

As director of the Data and Democracy Initiative at CITRIS on the UC Berkeley campus, she wants to encourage efforts to bring greater gender-parity to science and engineering fields.

"Not just because studies show that greater participation of women raises the level of collective intelligence in business teams, but because democracies deserve full participation of all their citizens."

For the full article, check here.

Camille Crittenden joined the Data and Democracy Initiative as Executive Director in May 2012. Prior to this appointment, she served as Executive Director of the Human Rights Center at Berkeley Law, where she was responsible for overall administration of the Center, including fundraising, communications, and outreach, and helped to develop its program in human rights, technology, and new media. She held previous positions as Assistant Dean for Development in the division of International and Area Studies at UC Berkeley and in development and public relations at University of California Press and San Francisco Opera. She holds a Ph.D. from Duke University.