State of the Georgia Girl Report

College and Career Readiness, continued.

One-third fewer women in Georgia enroll in STEM degree programs compared to men. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1502: Field of Bachelor’s Degree for First Major, 2024, Georgia. Despite closing the achievement gap by 8th grade and narrowing the gap in science to 1% in high school, girls are selecting STEM fields at an alarmingly low rate. 15% fewer women select STEM as their first major when entering college – a fact concerning both because achieving representation in these fields increases the female perspective in cutting-edge fields and serves to address a critical gap in the STEM workforce. As the largest population of college attendees in the state, girls remain the best opportunity to create a large generation of STEM employees needed to advance the state’s technology innovation .

First Major Selected, Bachelor's Degree, Georgia

42%

27%

27%

23%

21%

20%

17%

13%

6%

5%

Science and Engineering

Science and Engineering Related Fields

Business

Education Arts, Humanities, and Others

Female

Male

By 2030, the United States will face a

shortage of 1.4 million STEM workers

concentrated in advanced manufacturing and semiconductors according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (2023).

POWERED BY THE GIRL SCOUT COUNCILS SERVING THE STATE OF GEORGIA 69