Women In Stem Organization

What Women In Stem Organization does

Women in STEM (WiSTEM) is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs student-led STEM programs for girls and genderqueer teens. Founded in 2017 at the University of Chicago Lab School, the organization operates through a network of 241 chapters across 24 countries and 34 US states, serving 6,840 active members and reaching 20,000+ high school students cumulatively since founding.

Core offerings are organized around three pillars: Education, Mentorship, and Outreach. The Ambassador Program enables students to lead chapters at their schools; the Mentorship Program pairs high school students with undergraduate, graduate, and early-career professionals in one-on-one Zoom sessions; the Sister Chapter Program matches new chapters with experienced ones for peer support; and the Outreach Program hosts quarterly workshops with elementary school girls in underserved neighborhoods. Supplementary offerings include a Resource Hub, member-only scholarships (notably an Actalent-funded $1,000/$500/$500 program), and Chapter Funds for local projects.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform. Communication runs through Slack and Zoom, while the Squarespace-hosted website serves as a resource hub. All programming is free to participants. Revenue comes from tax-deductible donations processed through fiscal sponsor The Hack Foundation and corporate sponsorships at Gold and Bronze tiers; named partners include Actalent (Gold) and Lower Colorado River Authority (Bronze). WiSTEM is not venture-backed, has no paid headcount, and operates as a mission-driven nonprofit under fiscal sponsorship.

Name

Women In Stem Organization

Legal name

Women In Stem Organization

Website

https://womeninstem.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Women in STEM (WiSTEM) is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit running student-led STEM mentorship, outreach, and chapter programs across 24 countries for girls and genderqueer teens, operating 241 chapters serving 6,840 active members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEM Mentorship and Education

NAICS

All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM, Digital Literacy & Maker Education Nonprofits (BPAGADAG)

Keywords

• STEM mentorship programs
• Youth STEM education
• Nonprofit community chapters
• Women in STEM outreach
• Student-led mentorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: Tax-deductible donations processed through fiscal sponsor The Hack Foundation. Low operational costs allow donations to be directly re-invested into communities.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsors provide financial support at various tiers (Gold, Bronze). Institutional gifts from corporations looking to sponsor the organization's work.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Women in STEM (WiSTEM) is a volunteer-led, student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates a global chapter network delivering STEM mentorship, education, and community outreach programs for girls and genderqueer teens. The organization supports local chapters led by student ambassadors, pairs high school mentees with college students and STEM professionals, and runs quarterly hands-on workshops with elementary school girls in underprivileged neighborhoods.

Product overview

Women In Stem Organization (WiSTEM) is a volunteer-led nonprofit that operates a community-driven platform centered on three core pillars: Education, Mentorship, and Outreach. The core offerings include the Ambassador Program for student-led chapter leadership, the Mentorship Program for one-on-one guidance pairing high schoolers with STEM professionals, the Sister Chapter Program for peer support between chapters, and the Outreach Program targeting elementary school girls. Additional support services include the Resource Hub offering leadership applications, chapter funding, external and WiSTEM-specific scholarships, and educational resources. The organization connects 241 chapters across 24 countries with 6,840 members.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mentorship Program One-on-one mentorship matching high school students with undergraduate students, graduate students, and early career professionals in STEM fields based on shared interests and goals, delivered through monthly Zoom meetings.
• Sister Chapter Program Peer-support program pairing newly formed WiSTEM chapters with experienced chapters so ambassadors can share best practices, troubleshoot, and mentor one another.
• Ambassador Program Student leadership program that empowers high schoolers to start and lead WiSTEM chapters at their schools or in their communities, serving as the primary contact between the chapter and the broader WiSTEM network.
• Outreach Program Community outreach initiative connecting WiSTEM chapters with elementary school girls in underprivileged neighborhoods through quarterly hands-on workshops, tutoring, and STEM-related activities.
• Resource Hub Online platform offering leadership applications, chapter funds, external scholarships, WiSTEM-specific scholarships, and external educational resources for WiSTEM members.
• WiSTEM Scholarships Scholarship opportunities exclusively for WiSTEM members, including the Actalent x WiSTEM Scholarship offering $1,000, $500, and $500 awards to support college application costs for juniors and seniors.
• Chapter Funds Funding program allowing WiSTEM chapters to apply for financial distributions to support local STEM projects, events, and community initiatives.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ high school students supported globally since founding
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Edge in TechminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarding body for the Edge in Tech Athena Award, recognizing Women in STEM's contributions to advancing women in technology fields.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Technovation: Technovation challenges teams of girls to develop mobile apps that solve real problems in their communities. Like WiSTEM, it operates globally through structured mentorship and project-based learning for teen girls, with comparable chapter-based delivery and volunteer mentor infrastructure.
• Black Girls CODE: Black Girls CODE provides technology education to girls of color through workshops, hackathons, and after-school programs. It shares WiSTEM's model of community-delivered STEM programming targeting underrepresented girls and gender minorities, with similar reliance on volunteer mentors and chapter-based delivery.
• Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code runs summer immersion programs, clubs, and college-loops focused on closing the gender gap in technology. Like WiSTEM, it serves teen girls in STEM through community-based programs, mentorship, and outreach, but operates at significantly larger scale with paid staff and corporate sponsorship.
• Kode With Klossy: Kode With Klossy runs free coding camps for young women aged 13-22. It shares WiSTEM's teen-girl audience and free-to-participant model, with similar mission focus on increasing female representation in tech, though delivered through intensive summer camps rather than year-round chapters.
• ChickTech: ChickTech runs programs that support women and girls in technology through hands-on workshops, hackathons, and mentorship. It shares WiSTEM's community-led, volunteer-driven model targeting girls in STEM, with similar emphasis on retention through mentorship and engagement events.
• Million Women Mentors: Million Women Mentors is a STEM mentoring initiative supporting girls and women across multiple STEM disciplines. Its mentor-matching approach directly mirrors WiSTEM's mentorship program, and both serve overlapping student demographics through corporate and volunteer mentor pipelines.

Broad incumbents

• Society of Women Engineers (SWE): SWE is the largest professional society supporting women in engineering and technology. While SWE primarily serves collegiate and professional women rather than high schoolers, it operates in the same mission space as WiSTEM and represents a more established, professional-tier alternative for older members of WiSTEM's audience.

Emerging players

• STEM for Her: STEM for Her provides grants and program support to organizations encouraging girls and women to pursue STEM careers. It is comparable to WiSTEM in mission focus, though it operates as a grantmaking intermediary rather than as a direct chapter-based service provider.
• EngineerGirl (National Academy of Engineering): EngineerGirl is an NAE program that provides resources and profiles for girls interested in engineering. It shares WiSTEM's mission of encouraging girls into STEM fields, though it focuses on web-based content and profiles rather than WiSTEM's chapter and mentorship-based community model.

Regional players

• Ada Developers Academy: Ada Developers Academy is a tuition-free coding school for women and gender-nonconforming adults, primarily serving the US Pacific Northwest. It shares WiSTEM's gender-equity-in-tech mission and similar tuition-free, mentorship-supported model, but targets older learners transitioning into tech careers rather than high school students.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/women-in-stem-organization

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women In Stem Organization