In a collaboration between the Center for Occupational Research and Development (Cord) and several community college partners, mentoring program coordinator training workshops, an on-line mentoring toolkit, and an on-line professional development course are being developed and provided to the members of the STEM teaching and community college advising communities. This is a multi-faceted approach to encourage high school and community college young women to pursue careers in cutting-edge technologies and to dispel myths about women's abilities in science and technology.
Seven community colleges are involved in the project with an estimate of reaching 1200 girls through mentoring programs and 2700 girls through indirect contact with teachers who have taken the on-line course in gender equity. The project advances gender equity in cutting edge and quickly advancing technologies such as photonics, optics, cyber security, and rapid prototyping.
