NEW! Verizon's 'Inspire Her Mind' Illustrates Gender Gap In Science, Tech, Math And Engineering Fields

verizonVerizon, in partnership with MAKERS, launched a campaign to draw attention to the gender gap for young women in science, technology, engineering and math fields (STEM). A 60-second video, "Inspire Her Mind," illustrates how behaviors from loved ones can drastically alter a girl's journey in life. The ad begins with a young girl with a big interest in science. She loves rocks, walking in streams, playing with starfish, creating her own solar system and using electric tools to build school projects. Sadly, each time the girl participates in something where she might get her hands dirty, she's encouraged to divert her attention to other things. The girl might get her dress dirty when walking in a stream and dad thinks her brother should be using the power drill to assemble a school assignment, not her. The video ends with the girl reading a poster about an upcoming science fair. Instead of making a note to enter the fair, the girl uses the plexiglass next to the poster as a mirror to apply her lip gloss. Sixty-six percent of 4th grade girls say they like science and math, yet only 18% of college engineering majors are female. "Our words can have a huge impact," said voiceover Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code. "Isn't it time we tell her she's pretty brilliant, too?" See the video here, created by AKQA.

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