Special thanks to the Mary Ann Ahrens-Iowa Giving Circle for providing substantial financial support for the 2009-10 Campus Action Project teams.

» Read about the 2009-10 Teams

The 2009-10 Campus Action Project (CAP) Breaking through Barriers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics for Women and Girls focuses on the issues raised by AAUW's upcoming 2010 research report, Why So Few? Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The report will highlight key findings from recent research on women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in three areas: middle and high school, college and university, and the workplace. Although women and girls have made significant progress in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, they are still underrepresented in certain fields and barriers to their full participation remain.

The objective of this year's CAP grant is to provide a platform for campus programming that is informed by this research. We anticipate that projects will address some of the barriers that girls and women encounter in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields in school, college, and the workplace, and that the outcomes of the projects will help to increase the number of young women entering and pursuing those fields of study.

All projects closely relate to the topic of Breaking through Barriers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics for Women and Girls. The projects address some of the barriers that women face entering and staying in STEM fields, particularly physics, engineering, and computer science, areas where women are the most underrepresented:

1. STEM Literacy and Awareness. Create programs designed to raise awareness and increase understanding of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields and careers.
2. Mentoring. Develop programs that facilitate relationships between students or students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
3. Campus Department Culture. Design and implement initiatives that will improve the culture in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics departments on campus.

The CAP program presents a unique opportunity for student leaders on campus to engage with girls and women in their community and provides an excellent platform for ongoing leadership training and support of student leaders. One member of each team will be funded to present on the project at the 2010 AAUW/NASPA National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in Washington, DC.

Questions? Call 202/785-7719 or send an e-mail to cap@aauw.org.