CGEST’s Capacity Building arm serves to increase the participation of women and girls of color in STEM fields by providing evidence-based, research-driven programs that engage participants in socially relevant technology experiences. Through programs such as CompuGirls, CGEST provides one of the few technology programs that weds culturally relevant practices with project-based technology activities encouraging girls of color to develop socially relevant, researched products in areas of digital media, coding, and robotics.

Background: Participation from women belonging to diverse race-ethnic-social class groups in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields is lacking. Despite efforts to narrow divides, there are no coordinated interdisciplinary research and evidence-based strategies that consider students and women of color, their identities, and potential impact in these fields.