Venture Girls

Book excerpt: From an engineer and entrepreneur, a conversation-changing parenting book about how to engage young women in science, technology, engineering, and math, filled with practical advice for both parents and educators.As the female CEO of a tech startup, Dr. Cristal Glangchai was outnumbered twenty to one. At Google, Twitter, and Facebook, women currently fill just ten to twenty percent of technical jobs. While career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math have increased dramatically in the past twenty years, the achievement gap between men and women has only grown wider. In VentureGirls, Glangchai offers a unique solution based on her own experience as an engineer and entrepreneur as well as the founder of the VentureLab, an academy of entrepreneurship and technology for girls. Practical, accessible, and filled with success stories, VentureGirls argues that a key part of raising strong, confident young women is giving them the tools of entrepreneurship to engage in STEM. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting companies, Glangchai writes, it is a skillset and a way of thinking that is particularly useful in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Entrepreneurship involves identifying needs, brainstorming creative solutions, innovating, and taking calculated risks. In short, it’s about having a vision and making it a reality. The true value in learning and practicing entrepreneurship, Glangchai argues, lies in nurturing and growing an overall mindset—the ability to learn from failure and to work well with others to bring your ideas to life. Deeply informative, warm, and grounded in real-world experience, VentureGirls includes a plethora of activities and lessons that focus on strengthening kids’ ingenuity and resilience. VentureGirls is essential reading for anyone who wants to raise girls and young women who realize their strength, engage in the world, and feel empowered to make a positive impact.