Young Women Empowerment Initiative is a new organization founded by Varna Kodoth of Plainsboro and Radhika Gupta of West Windsor, both juniors at High School South. YWEI encourages women to take control of their futures by taking on leadership positions and delving into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field professions. The initiative is geared mainly to middle and high school girls.
YWEI plans seminars to learn more about women in leadership roles and STEM field professions within the community. Topics include how they got to be where they are, the skills they developed to become successful, what it’s like working in a male-dominated field, what women empowerment means, and more. Kodoth hopes to become a doctor and Gupta hopes to become an engineer.
“Women make up only 25 percent of the STEM field workforce and only 27 CEOs in the Fortune 1000 are women,” they say. “The purpose of YWEI is to create a spark in young women that will contribute towards bridging the gap between women and leadership.”
YWEI exhibited at the Young Women Conference at Princeton University last month. More than 450 students from New Jersey attended the conference to learn about women in STEM. “YWEI received positive feedback and gained many active supporters through this event,” they say.
They also hosted a seminar at Plainsboro Library on March 29. There were guest talks by Dr. Madeline Chadehumbe, a neurologist from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Dr. Aimee Goodman, a pediatrician from Healthy Kids Pediatric Group in East Windsor.
The doctors shared insight on their respective medical studies and discussed how they balance their work life and personal life, the challenges they faced in their journey to achieving their goals, and what they love about their job.
“We both feel extremely passionate about women empowerment,” say Kodoth and Gupta. “We believe that women should aspire to have those leadership positions. We hope to be the catalyst in the lives of these young women.”
Visit www.youngandempowered.org for information.
