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Girls and Women in Science & Math Initiative Accomplishments--Fall 1995 Dr. Sally Ride Dr. Paula Levin Tam O'Shaughnessy During the past three months (October 1,1995 to December 31,1995), we have begun the development of the Girls and Women in Science & Math Initiative. The long-range goals of this initiative are: to encourage and motivate girls and women to enter careers in science and math; to promote successful participation by girls and women in mathematics and science educational environments; and to increase general access and equity for girls and women in these disciplines. The primary goal during during the fourth quarter of 1995 was to begin laying a foundation of knowledge, contacts, and resources upon which future activities will be built Toward this achieving this objective, we initiated the following work: I. Database of Organizations and Resources We created a database to store and organize information about all types of organizations (public and private; local and national; research and programmatic) which address issues in the domain of women in science and math. II. Statistics on Gender Differences in Math and Science We gathered and compiled the existing national statistics about the participation, attitudes and achievement of girls and women in science and math (see enclosed Figures 1-5). In the area of achievement,for example,the data show that girls and women achieve higher grade point averages across all subject areas and across all grade levels than do boys and men. Even so, proportionally fewer college women chose to major in math and science despite their coursework success in these subjects. III. Programs and Organizations We contacted numerous programs and organizations which are involved in math and science education and extracurricular activities to motivate girls to explore careers in science and math. In addition we talked about the initiative issues with the following: Southern California school districts UCSD Teacher Education Program National Science Teacher Association National Council for Teachers of Mathematics Teach for America--Math & Science Initiative Girls Inc. Project EQUALS (Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley) [[marginalia indicates "talked to" Girls, Inc. and Project EQUALS]]