The Professional Women in Pest Management Minnesota (PWIPM MN) chapter recently signed a contract with The Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys partnering on programming for Girl Scouts groups on bugs and the world of Pest Management.
This sponsorship is a financial collaboration between Adam's Pest Control, Plunkett's Pest Control and ECOLAB.
The PWIPM MN partnership will be the first Exclusive Bug Masters Partnership and will provide programming for girls in second and third grade to explore the world of bugs, and for girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grade to learn more about the pest management industry from our cross-company experts on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related nature and environmental jobs.
Despite all genders having an equal interest in STEM in elementary school, by high school, girls have a lower interest in STEM than boys, and only 13 percent of teenage girls think of STEM as being their first career choice, said Julie Baskerville, co-chair of PWIPM MN.
Women make up only 30 percent of Minnesota’s 23 to 25-year-old STEM workforce, Baskerville added.
"Girl Scouts ensures that girls see themselves as STEM leaders and have access to learning opportunities in these high-paying fields," she said.