Careers for Girls: Let go the sandbags and dream BIG.

Smash gender-bias in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Diverse and inclusive women empower girls to dream BIG, rise high, and blaze their own trail through traditionally male-dominated careers. Some women walk around, some use a wheelchair or wear prosthetic limbs, and all look strong and capable. The author states: “Young girls today are growing up in an image-conscious world that is teaching them to care less about ‘making a difference’ and more about making their faces look different. The women in this book want people to look at them and think smart first, not ‘pretty’ first. They prefer a makeup-free look and don’t mind a few hairs out of place. They want to help young girls realise that what they can look like is not as important as what they can do. Because girls don’t need more influencers; they need more role models.” This book is a map for young girls that can start them on a journey of discovery to find out what they really want to be when they grow up. Careers for Girls features: –   Explanations of STEM and why it’s important. –    Descriptions of different careers, and what’s so great about them. –    The barriers that stop girls getting into STEM. (Parents are top of the list). –    The importance of ‘Girls Supporting Girls’ with a ‘We Stick Together’ logo. –    A poem and jingle about clean ‘Tap Water’ for green homes and schools. –    Drawing and fill-in activities, and a ‘Mindfulness’ moment. –    Original hand-drawn artwork with some Irish places of interest. –    Colourful backgrounds with lots of conversation starters, drawn especially for younger readers. (Backgrounds include lots of different environments like desert, snow, jungle, farmland, ocean, rivers, and coasts. Subtle conversation starters include; therapy cats, a cute Loch Ness Monster, endangered plants and animals, tectonic plates, ‘things I can’t control’, recycling, bungee jumping off the Cliffs of Moher, bug hotels, ancient ruins, breastfeeding, Ogham writing, salmon migration, hibernation, and alien flowers; to name a few). Some of the content in the book aligns with the global, social, and environmental justice goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, by mentioning and promoting sustainability, green energy, recycling, education, clean water, girls supporting girls, and gender equality. Give a young girl in your life the gift of a bright future so she can dream BIG and rise high.