WALTHAM, MA — Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (GSEMA) announces its newest STEM curriculum for Girl Scouts ages 9-11 in partnership with Suffolk, a builder and real estate enterprise. Juniors Who Build was created to allow Girl Scouts to feel engaged and inspired anytime, anywhere. The patch program will help Girl Scouts to understand the steps of the construction process, different construction careers, and how they can build something themselves.

Research shows that girls are keenly interested in STEM and excel at it, yet they often do not pursue it for various reasons — starting as early as elementary school. Through programming like Juniors Who Build, GSEMA shows Girl Scouts how STEM can help empower themselves to improve the world. This program and the many others facilitated by GSEMA volunteers let Girl Scouts explore essential life skills and embolden them to accept challenges, overcome obstacles, and take the lead.

The Juniors Who Build curriculum will take Girl Scouts through a five-step process of building a treehouse, with options to choose an activity for each step. Upon completion of the program, Girl Scouts will be armed with knowledge of design and coordination, cost and estimation, planning, site management and safety, and trades.

“We are very grateful to Suffolk for their work and dedication on this partnership,” said GSEMA CEO Barbara Fortier. “This is just the beginning. Our goal is to create programming for each level of Girl Scouting to expose our Girl Scouts to many aspects of the construction industry. At Girl Scouts, it is important for us to provide programming in different career fields whether it be STEM, marketing, sales, and/or finance.”

This curriculum is part of Suffolk’s 10-year partnership with GSEMA and an effort to promote gender equality in the construction industry. Now in its third year, Rebuild the Ratio aims to bring 10 percent of all Girl Scouts in eastern Massachusetts through the curriculum and increase the number of women in Suffolk's workforce from 28 percent to 38 percent in the next 10 years.

“Our partnership with GSEMA and our Suffolk Rebuild the Ratio initiative demonstrate our commitment to closing the gender gap in construction and STEM careers,” said John Fish, Chairman and CEO of Suffolk. “We believe it is our responsibility, as an organization and as an industry, to provide the resources and education young women and girls need to pursue a career in the thriving fields of STEM and construction. We are thrilled to collaborate with GSEMA to achieve this ambitious vision.”