Join the #EqualityIs Campaign As the UN prepares to create…
Rocio Ortega grew up in what she describes as a “machismo” culture in East Los Angeles.
“We grew up seeing the women in our families undervalued and taking
Join the #EqualityIs Campaign As the UN prepares to create…
Rocio Ortega grew up in what she describes as a “machismo” culture in East Los Angeles.
“We grew up seeing the women in our families undervalued and taking on traditional roles like staying at home, cleaning and taking care of the family.” – Rocio Ortega
In high school, she searched the Internet for a girls’ club to discuss gender equality and feminism and found one: Girl Up.
Ortega, now an associate at Girl Up, was a counselor at one of the first WiSci Girls STEAM Camps in 2015. She worked with 100 adolescent girls from Latin America and the U.S. at the camp in Peru to help encourage careers in STEAM if that was their interest.
“I’d rather work with adolescent girls than adults. They’re so much more fun to work with, you definitely pick up from their energy.” – Rocio Ortega
WiSci Girls STEAM Camp aims to bridge the gender gap in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through access to education, mentoring opportunities and leadership training. This camp took place in Peru in 2015.
When Ortega, now 24, started her Girl Up club at age 16, she got some push back from male teachers, who asked why her school needed it when women already are equal.
“No, that’s not the case here,” she told them.
“It was first educating ourselves on these issues and then educating those around you,” Ortega said. “In my case, I noticed how much adults don’t tend to trust teenagers.”
“The sooner that adults can begin to see teenagers and adolescent girls as equals, then the faster we can move on some of these issues.” – Rocio Ortega
Ortega’s club was one of the first 10 Girl Up clubs in the U.S.
“It was a really fun period. They suggested conversations and fundraisers, but I had ownership and creativity over the events I wanted to do.” – Rocio Ortega
- As a first-generation Mexican-American, Rocio and her friends, many of whom were from Guatemala, chose to focus their efforts on helping girls in Guatemala.
- They learned through Girl Up that girls in other countries, such as refugees in Ethiopia, faced similar challenges such as lack of education and rights.
So how do you tackle such big social issues as a student?
- Teachers friendly to their mission gave Ortega and her fellow club members class time to talk about the issues girls encounter in developing countries.
- They held bake sales and got proceeds from school dance tickets, and solicited donations from family an