Asides

The Administration joined 12 international leaders for the launch of the Equal Futures Partnership, a new, multi-lateral initiative to break down barriers to women’s political participation and economic opportunity.  The U.S. contribution to Equal Futures includes a renewed commitment to opening more doors to high-quality education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for women and girls, who currently hold only one-quarter of all American jobs within these fields, despite making up nearly half of the total U.S. workforce.  These efforts build upon the President’s and First Lady’s calls for an “all-hands-on-deck” effort to break down barriers to attracting girls and retaining women in STEM fields.
Among the steps that the White House announced in support of Equal Futures are improving data collection and dissemination on women in science and technology, bolstering the available pool of skilled STEM mentors, encouraging research-based STEM teaching, and helping to connect women to online and mobile skills training.  Several leading businesses, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations have also made commitments to advance women and girls’ economic and political empowerment at home and abroad.  They are dedicating themselves to launching new and innovative programs to support women and girls in STEM fields, connecting women entrepreneurs to markets and supply chains, and supporting research to advance girls’ leadership.