Black Girls Do STEM

Currently, Black women represent only 2% of the United States’ science and engineering workforce. Black Girls Do STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), a 2024-2025 SOS grantee, aims to grow that number.

Cynthia Chapple, who founded Black Girls Do STEM (BGDSTEM) in 2019, is a firm believer that early exposure to STEM education ignites curiosity and confidence. BGDSTEM introduces marginalized Black girls in St. Louis to STEM programming in middle school and offers a wide range of opportunities through high school.

Through a variety of academic and extracurricular activities, BGDSTEM creates a “cradle to career” pathway for Black girls. This summer, program participants will travel to the Lake of the Ozarks to learn about plants and biodiversity, tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities in Tennessee and Georgia, intern with local corporations, and work on the Black Genome Project as junior research assistants.

Ms. Chapple shared one student’s journey as a shining example of the experiences and opportunities BGDSTEM provides. This student began her journey with BGDSTEM in seventh grade and will be a high school senior this fall. Over the last several years, she has conducted qualitative research, attended a public health research conference, engaged with engineers at Missouri University of Science and Technology (which helped her identify her college major), and traveled to Costa Rica to learn about the environment.

This summer, she secured an internship at a large university. Early access to BGDSTEM exposed her to the ways STEM can create solutions for people and the environment, along with a diverse range of experiences that she will take with her into college and beyond.

SOS Board Member Ellen Shapiro participated in the BGDSTEM’s site visit and advocated for SOS funding. “What stood out most during our visit to Black Girls Do STEM was their commitment to what they call the 4 C’s: Curiosity, Culture, Confidence, and Community,” said Ellen.

These values drive a powerful mission—to spark a lasting interest in STEM and create a “new normal” where there is equitable representation of Black women across all STEM fields.