GLAM and eBay recently completed an event to help tackle the gender divide in STEAM

GLAM (Girls Leadership Academy Meetup), the Silicon Valley-based nonprofit, announced today the completion of its fifth event in partnership with eBay aimed at teaching girls aged 8-12 leadership and tech skills to help close the gender gap in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics).

As part of the event, 40 eBay volunteers, including five keynote speakers and 17 coders, helped host two half-day sessions that included leadership skill building, coding, and creativity, as well as business planning and pitch mentoring. The goal of the program is to equip girls to dream big and aspire to senior leadership roles in STEAM and business. To date, several hundred girls have been positively impacted by this partnership.

The 2022 event was delivered online and included 98 girls from the United States, Ireland, England, India, and Germany. Four of the girls were from underserved communities in the U.S.

Pre- and post-event surveys showed that GLAM participants’ knowledge of STEAM and leadership subjects improved significantly over the course of the two-day event. The girls’ answers to these surveys revealed that their knowledge of and confidence with business planning surged by 185%, and their confidence with entrepreneurship more than doubled. Their understanding of pitching, strategy, and public speaking also improved greatly.

The girls’ sessions with Chelsey Baker, a prominent business mentor and public speaking expert, proved particularly popular. There was a significant increase in participants that liked public speaking after the mentoring sessions with Chelsey, with the girls responding that they felt more empowered and confident.

Fifty-seven girls attended the event’s coding workshop, which was led by 13 eBay volunteers. After the event, 63% of respondents said they loved the workshop and planned to continue coding. Aside from the coding workshop, participants also shared vision boards and submitted business pitches to a panel of judges comprised of eBay volunteers.

“We at eBay are always thrilled to support GLAM and celebrate these young girls who have innovative visions for our world,” said Uma Achutha, Senior Product Manager at eBay. “We’re inspired by their passion to help others and can’t wait to see them become the leaders of our future.”

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