DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., March 03, 2014
Mayim Bialik, star of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory,” will again partner as spokesperson for DeVry University’s National HerWorld® Month, an annual initiative to spark high school girls’ interest in careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Nearly 8 million jobs will be available in STEM-related fields by 2020,1 yet women comprise only 24 percent of the STEM workforce.2 HerWorld helps prepare the next generation of female graduates for these opportunities by introducing them to successful women in STEM careers.
In addition to playing a neuroscientist on “The Big Bang Theory,” Bialik has a personal passion for STEM: she earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience in 2007. “I am partnering with DeVry University to emphasize the value of female role models in providing mentorship to high school girls and showing them that they can succeed in STEM-related careers,” Bialik said. “HerWorld is an exciting way for young women to learn directly from female leaders who persisted through challenges, and to experience the wonder and ‘cool factor’ of STEM through hands-on activities.”
Bialik will speak at the HerWorld event at Gotham Hall in New York City on Friday, March 14.
DeVry University launched HerWorld 17 years ago. Today, and throughout the month, thousands of young women from hundreds of high schools will participate in HerWorld events across the country. Female students will interact with their peers in workshops and confidence-building activities, as well as hear from women leaders in STEM from companies including Microsoft, Google and Cisco.
Contributing to the gender gap in STEM-related fields is a lack of continued interest in these subjects among young women in high school and beyond. More than half of high school freshmen who declare interest in a STEM-related field lose interest by the time they graduate,3 and one-third of women who enter STEM bachelor’s degree programs switch their majors to a non-STEM field.4 National HerWorld Month works to reverse this trend with the help of real-life female role models who can introduce high school girls to rewarding and achievable STEM careers.
HerWorld is an initiative of STEM Ready, a national movement established by DeVry University to introduce more high school students to careers in STEM. For more information, visit www.devry.edu/stemready.
National HerWorld Month Event Schedule |
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| Date | Location | |
| 2/28/14 | Phoenix | |
| 3/4/14 | Chicagoland – Rockford, Ill. | |
| 3/6/14 | Chicagoland – Schaumburg, Ill. | |
| 3/7/14 | Fresno, Calif. | |
| 3/11/14 | Los Angeles | |
| 3/13/14 | Los Angeles – Colton, Calif. | |
| 3/13/14 | Chicagoland – Glen Ellyn, Ill. | |
| 3/14/14 | New York | |
| 3/18/14 | Atlanta | |
| 3/21/14 | Fresno – Bakersfield, Calif. | |
| 3/26/14 | Philadelphia | |
| 3/26/14 | Columbus, Ohio | |
| 3/27 and 3/28/14 | Houston | |
| 3/28/14 | North Brunswick, N.J. | |
| 3/28/14 | Los Angeles – Long Beach, Calif. | |
