Although women fill close to half of all the jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25% of jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The American Heart Association of Greater New Orleans, and local sponsors like Entergy Corporation, strive to make significant changes to these statistics by empowering more women to seek careers in the sciences. In order to move medical breakthroughs forward, more women need a seat at the table, making significant contributions to the advancement of women’s healthcare.
As an extension of the Go Red for Women movement, which empowers communities to build a sustainable culture of health, the American Heart Association created STEM Goes Red, designed to encourage young women’s interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and to explore careers in those industries.
The American Heart Association’s 2020 STEM Goes Red event, powered by Entergy, engaged 100 high-school girls from Einstein Charter School during a day-long event full of memorable interactions with community leaders. The girls explored STEM outside the classroom, heard insightful talks from leading innovators on industry trends, networked and explored hands on activities, and learned how to take charge of their health and well-being through Go Red. During the day, the girls rotated through four breakout sessions covering each field of STEM.
“We are proud to partner with the American Heart Association on STEM Goes Red to engage these young women to pursue what challenges them, makes them happy and contributes to the development of today’s economy and tomorrow’s future,” said Patty Riddlebarger, vice president of corporate social responsibility at Entergy. “Opportunities such as STEM Goes Red means more bright minds are pursuing complex solutions for today’s energy, environmental, healthcare and engineering problems.”
“Since heart disease continues to be the number one killer of women, ensuring more women are at the forefront of developing science, technology, education, and math (STEM) solutions has never been more critical,” said Brittany Gay, executive director, American Heart Association of Greater New Orleans. “STEM is our future and as a science-based health nonprofit, STEM is at the heart of who we are and what we do. We’re so thankful to our partners at Entergy for aiding in putting this wonderful event together for our local students.”