About the Author: Tara D. Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Rose Gottemoeller serves as Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

Think about it. Breaking the glass ceiling and advancing science go hand-in-hand. If we can get more women and girls - maybe half the world’s population - studying science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we have more chances to solve major global crises, from disease to arms control, from communications to health. Getting ahead on STEM is a challenge worth taking on.

Over coffee one day, we decided that we would do our part to address this challenge. The answer, we believed, was self evident: We need to recruit greater numbers of young people to enter the fields of STEM so that we can extend our budding talent pool. And we must reach out to the 50 percent of our population traditionally constrained from pursuing careers in science: women. 

That is what motivated us to create two programs, both launched on December 19, dedicated to removing barriers… more »