Advertisement

Here's How Olay Body Is Getting More Young Women Into STEM

According to a report published in 2020 by the UN, women make up less than 30% of the world’s scientific researchers. On top of that stat, in 2019, non-profit organization management firm Catalyst found that from 2015 to 2016, only around 5% of Asian women, 3% of Black women, and 4% of Latina women earned STEM degrees. But Olay Body is looking to change these figures around, and they're doing so by investing in the next generation of leaders.

RELATED: She Blinded Me with Science: The Must-Read, Girl-Power STEM Book

On March 8, the brand launched its new Skin in the Game education program, where they partnered with Aiken High School in Cincinnati to surprise a diverse group of 10 young women with a $10,000 scholarship for each to pursue STEM programs in college.

"Diversity and inclusivity is extremely important," Dr. Maiysha Jones, scientific communications manager at P&G tells InStyle. "We get some of our greatest breakthroughs in creativity and productivity when we have diversity of thought and diversity of culture around the table. Just them being themselves [in STEM] is enough."

Duane Prokop/Getty Images
Duane Prokop/Getty Images

While the young women who were awarded with scholarships are still seniors in high school, the initiative made an instant — and lasting — impact on their lives. "They were so surprised and they were teary a little bit," Dr Jones shares. "I think they really recognize that this could be a real potential game-changer for their futures."

With Olay Body discovering that the lack of visible female representation in STEM is one of the main reasons why young women don't pursue careers in this field, the brand is hoping that by investing in these young women's education early on, they can help to close this gap for generations to come.