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" I recently had the privilege of speaking on an incredible panel at the S.H.E. Summit (She Helps Empower) in New York City on the topic of engaging women in science. It was moderated by John Gerzema, author of The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future. Tracy Day, co-founder and CEO of the World Science Fair, and Rita King, EVP for Business Development of the Science House in NYC were my fellow panelists. Why are we promoting female interest in science? While women hold about half of the jobs in the U.S., in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) that percentage is less than 25%. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute is dedicated to fostering female participation in STEM. And to quote Mae Jemison, the first African American woman in space, &amp;quot;I want to make sure we use all our talent, not just 25%.&amp;quot; Plus, woman are capable of accomplishing great things in science \u2014 as exhibited in the history of the Weizmann Institute, the research organization that organized my panel. Female scientists who worked there include Ada Yonath, who is Israel&amp;#039;s first woman to win the Nobel Prize, and Ruth Arnon, whose work led to the introduction of Copaxone for people with multiple sclerosis. What can we do to engage more girls in STEM? We should encourage young girls to explore, examine, and be curious. We should not criticize mistakes they make, but bolster their confidence and encourage perseverance. We also need to make science come alive \u2014 take our daughters to science museums, have them play engaging STEM games, and provide mentorship. We love when young girls tour our Institute with their parents; here, science comes alive every day. Rachel Rothman is the Technical Director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. NEXT: 4 New Learning Kits for Your Young Scientist \u00BB Photo: Jasper White/Getty "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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