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

Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM)

Diverse and inclusive women with STEM, Trade and Art careers; whether they walk around, use a wheelchair or wear prosthetic limbs, they are all strong and capable.

Careers for Girls is about giving girls options, choices and dreams for their future, while tackling the worldwide problem of under-representation of women in male-dominated careers. The workforce of the future will need to have a strong set of STEM skills, or risk being left behind as the world evolves. No bigger group is more at risk of being left behind, than girls.

Every day, STEM job vacancies around the world are going unfilled - and it's worsening each year. Getting more girls interested in STEM could help fill these vacancies. Since the STEM sector is male-dominated, it will also benefit from the greater variety of different ideas, experiences, and opinions that women have to offer.

STEM careers create opportunities for girls to become important in their field of work, contribute to greater movements, invent new technology, discover new medicines, inspire others, and help save Earth's people, animals, and climate.

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 young 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."

Some of the content in the book also aligns with the global, social, and environmental justice goals of the UN Sustainable Development Goals; topics in Careers for Girls mention and promote sustainability, green energy, recycling, education, clean water, gender equality, and girls supporting girls, among others.

Careers for Girls features:

• Descriptions of STEM, trade and art careers, and what's so great about them.
• The barriers girls face when choosing STEM school subjects.
• A note about the importance of friends and a 'Girls Supporting Girls' logo.
• A 'Tap Water' poem/jingle for green schools and homes.
• A 'Mindfulness' moment.
• Fill-in activities.
• Original hand-drawn artwork and Irish places of interest.
• Interesting, colourful backgrounds, with plenty of conversation starters drawn specially for younger siblings.

It is time for girls to rise and they don't need any more influencers; they need role models. Give a young girl in your life the gift of a bright future, and let her dream BIG.