Earlier this spring, Education Week reported about a new research study: after decades of progress, the gender gap in STEM interest and participation among students is once again widening. This sets off alarm bells for all of us who care about educational equity, innovation, and the future of our workforce.
For years, we’ve seen signs of real progress—girls closing the gap in math scores, increased representation in STEM courses, and more women pursuing STEM degrees. But today, those gains are at risk. And the most recent data confirms it.
NGCP’s State of Girls in STEM report, released in March 2025, paints a stark picture:
- Only 28% of high school girls report feeling confident in their STEM abilities, compared to 45% of boys.
- Girls of color face multiple barriers, with Black and Latina girls reporting the lowest levels of access to hands-on STEM learning.
- Mentorship gaps persist, and informal STEM learning experiences—so critical for building identity and belonging—are declining, especially in underfunded communities.
These are not just numbers. They reflect real girls in classrooms, in afterschool programs, and in summer camps who are opting out of STEM pathways, doubting their potential, and losing out on opportunities for a bright future.
And now, federal education cuts threaten to make matters worse.
Programs that fund out-of-school STEM learning, educator training, and equity-centered initiatives are limited or cancelled. I have spent more than 30 years opening doors to STEM futures for girls and we have learned you cannot close the STEM gender gap by cutting the programs designed to close it.
At NGCP, we work with educators, youth-serving organizations, and industry partners to provide mentorship, community, and opportunity for girls in every zip code. We’ve built a powerful network. There are many more girls to serve and we need your support.
If we want a STEM future that reflects the talent of our nation—not just a fraction of it—we must invest in it. That means supporting organizations like NGCP, uplifting youth voices, and ensuring that every girl has the opportunity to find a place for herself in STEM.
Girls are ready to lead. But they can’t do it alone—it’s up to us to support a system that believes in and invests in them.
Karen Peterson
NGCP Chief Executive Officer and Founder
Karen A. Peterson has over 25 years of experience in education as a classroom teacher, university instructor, teacher educator, program administrator, and researcher. Peterson serves on local and national boards that develop and administer programs designed to increase underrepresented students’ interests in STEM. She has served on the Board of Directors for True Child, an independent think tank that translates research and knowledge on the impact of gender stereotypes into a range of effective interventions, policies, and other resources for the organizations and policy makers. Peterson has published in The Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering and CBE Life Sciences Education, a journal published by the American Society for Cell Biology. She co-authored evaluation reports and promising practices reports in informal information technology education for girls for the National Center for Women & Information Technology. In 2013, Peterson was profiled in STEMConnector’s™ 100 Women Leaders in STEM publication. A graduate of the University of Washington, Bothell campus, her Master’s thesis focused on gendered attitudes towards computer use in education.