WE Council Commemorates International Day of the Girl
October 11, 2022, marks the 10th anniversary of the United Nation’s declaration of International Day of the Girl (IDG). The IDG commemorates the worldwide awareness and the protection of girls' rights to be seen, to be heard, to be respected, to have access, and to be included.
The Women Empowerment Council (WEC) strives to move the needle toward gender equality in businesses in China and beyond. Gender inequality is an experience that oftentimes begins with a young girl's dreams and aspirations being limited by the lack of representation in the real world. At its core, the WEC understands that a sustainable pipeline of capable women begins with sharing, teaching, and influencing young girls to pursue and achieve their full potential. That is why our initiatives actively raise funds for the EGRC and the World Academy, and why we drive programs like the Girls in STEMM (GIS).
Research shows that girls lose their interest in STEMM-related fields in middle school and high school. A healthy pipeline of women in STEMM fields begins with society and companies creating more support and environments that connect these young girls to the biologists, physicists, chemists, mathematicians, engineers, doctors, etc. that represent a very real future for them.
GIS aims to close the gender gap in STEMM fields by encouraging girls to participate in STEMM subjects early on. Our GIS program brings schools and companies on board so that together we can expose girls to professional work environments, and inspiring role models. We do this with the hope that participating in this program will be a memorable experience that remains close to their hearts and minds as they move forward to make decisions for university and beyond. Our power is in uniting our collective efforts and sharing with these young girls that STEMM is a way of finding new ways of impacting the world for the good.
GIS is a mutual benefit for all of us, the WEC also draws as much inspiration from witnessing the initiative and engagement these young girls apply throughout. Seeing their desire to share, learn, and inspire motivates us to keep doing the same.
Let us celebrate these young girls by sharing some of their GIS testimony:
“I feel like maybe we could raise awareness outside school also because we want our voice to be heard by more people about the capability of women in the STEMM field and how in some areas there are still stereotypes that women are not able to study in STEMM field. In my school, there are a lot of activities held about women's rights, but the communities outside school may not have that awareness or the chance of attending activities about similar topics, so I feel like more raising awareness outside school might be needed.”
“I loved how we got to converse with respected business and STEMM leaders directly and listen to their experiences. This is an opportunity that is rarely seen elsewhere.”
“I really enjoyed the panel discussions when we were able to ask specific questions. Specifically, when hearing about how each of the employees has transitioned through the company, showed me how many endless opportunities there are when you go into this field; you are not confined to just one area.”
The Women Empowerment Council (WEC) is an engaged network of leaders and decision-makers that aims to advance gender equality in businesses in China and beyond.
The Women's Empowerment Council is a community of leaders and policymakers that promotes gender equality in businesses in China and other countries.