TechGYRLS®
TechGYRLS®

TechGYRLS® is a highly successful nation-wide YWCA after-school empowerment program that provides girls ages 5-14 with opportunities to increase their skills and confidence in the use of technology and engineering. TechGYRLS® was developed by the YWCA USA in 1997 after seeing the need to strengthen girls’ interest and competency in computer literacy — a key job skill in nearly every profession today. The goal of TechGYRLS® is to provide technology education in an all-girl environment where girls feel comfortable taking risks and opening up to new learning opportunities.

Elementary and middle school girls engage in activities to stimulate a deeper interest in technology using critical thinking, time management, teamwork, problem solving, and presentation skills. Career development is another component as the program tries to reach girls at a young age.

Program Sites:
Canoas Elementary School (2 days a week) 2:10-4:10 p.m. (map)
Horace Mann Elementary School 2:10-4:10 p.m. (map) West Valley Child Care Center 3:00-5:00 p.m. (map)
(This site serves; Bagby Elementary, Oster Elementary, Fammatre Elementary, and Sattorette Charter School
Number of Program Participants: 15-20 girls per site per class.
Classroom/Computer Lab Activities
  • Engineering basics in: Electrical, Mechanical, and Environmental
  • Design multimedia projects with musical components, sound effects, and animated drawings.
  • Construct bridges, towers, and other structures while investigating form and function, stability and force
  • Internet safety and research
  • Budgeting and money management
  • Leadership and team building skills
  • Product research, development, and design
  • Marketing and commercial skills
  • Public speaking and presentation skills

Girls receive real-world instruction, mentoring, and role-modeling from women engineers and professionals. Girls who complete a full school year of TechGYRLS® will be invited to return as peer mentors.

The American Association of University Women study, Tech-Savy: Educating Girls in the New Computer age (2000) confirms that computer science is the only field in which women's participation has decreased over time---women receive less that 28% of computer science related bachelor's degrees, down from a high of 37% in 1984.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 75% of future jobs will require the use of computers; however, fewer than 33% of participants in computer courses and related activities are girls.
Women make up 51% of the U.S. population and 46% of the nation's labor force, but only 22% of working scientists and engineers are women, according to a U.S. report from the National Science Foundation.