Girls in STEM Day: The Leadership We Should Be Teaching Early

Today is Girls in STEM Day, and I can’t stop thinking about something I’ve seen again and again.

Girls don’t struggle in STEM because they lack intelligence.

They struggle because the environment often teaches them something quietly and unfairly:

Be perfect, or don’t speak.
Get it right the first time, or you don’t belong.

And that is not STEM.

STEM is trial and error.
STEM is curiosity.
STEM is failing forward.
STEM is building something messy before it becomes brilliant.

Over the last two years, through programs like Building Bridges with Mujeres Omega Foundation, I’ve watched girls light up when they’re given permission to explore. They ask bold questions. They take initiative. They lead naturally.

But I’ve also seen the moment when confidence starts to shrink.

Not because they aren’t capable…
but because they don’t yet have the internal tools to navigate frustration, comparison, group dynamics, or the fear of being wrong.

That’s why one of my favorite Catalyst principles is this:

Leadership is practice, not performance.

Leadership isn’t something you “become” later.

It’s something you practice in small moments:

when you don’t understand something and you ask anyway
when you try again after a mistake
when you speak up in a group project
when you manage emotions instead of hiding them
when you support someone else instead of competing

That is leadership.

And that is why Catalyst exists.

Because STEM needs more girls.
But girls also need something just as important:

clarity, confidence, emotional intelligence, and belonging.

Today I’m thinking about every girl who has ever been called “too quiet,” “too sensitive,” or “too emotional” to lead.

I’ve met too many of them.

And I’ve watched them prove everyone wrong.

Happy Girls in STEM Day.
The work continues.

Hoy es el Día de las Niñas en STEM, y me hace pensar en algo que he visto muchas veces: las niñas no fallan en STEM por falta de capacidad, fallan cuando el entorno les exige perfección en lugar de permitirles explorar.

STEM es ensayo y error. Es curiosidad. Es intentar otra vez.

A través de programas como Building Bridges con Mujeres Omega Foundation, he visto niñas brillantes liderar naturalmente… pero también he visto cómo la confianza se apaga cuando no tienen herramientas para manejar frustración, presión o miedo a equivocarse.

Por eso una de las ideas centrales de Catalyst es esta:

El liderazgo es práctica, no performance.

Feliz Día de las Niñas en STEM.
La labor continúa.