When most people think of the Girl Scouts, the first thing that comes to mind is … STEM education? Probably not. But the organization runs a robust program to introduce girls to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Girl Scouts can also learn about entrepreneurship starting at a young age. Educators, policymakers and advocates all stress the importance of encouraging women to pursue careers or academic programs in those subjects and of supporting their efforts to start businesses. As the president and CEO of Girl Scouts of Northern New Jersey, Betty Garger oversees those programs.

For the latest edition of NJBIZ Conversations, Editor Jeff Kanige spoke with Garger about those efforts and how they operate. “We really are working for girls, especially in the younger ages – kindergarten through fifth –  but then of course six through 12th grade, to let them know that not only should they learn about STEM because it’s what fuels us, but it’s also important because women are not in those roles,” she said. “We know that women hold very few engineering degrees, or if they do hold engineering degrees, they’ve been the only females in a male-dominated profession.” Watch the full interview HERE.