Feminism is a movement that aims to provide women with professional and personal growth opportunities. Improving the ways in which girls are encouraged to overcome physical and mental challenges is integral toward achieving equity. Thus, in 2018, I started a program that took a dozen high-school girls from low-income families on a backpacking adventure to teach outdoor, leadership, and environmental science skills. After serving as a professor at New Mexico State University (NMSU) for 14 years, I had come to better understand not only some of the cultural differences and challenges that our female students faced but also the importance of social mobility. The El Paso–Las Cruces region, where 80% of the population is Hispanic and only 27% of the population holds a university degree, is one of the poorest in the country. Family ties in the Hispanic culture are tight and females are typically responsible for looking after relatives (including younger siblings or those in poor health), which often takes priority over school. Hence, I perceived this type of outdoor program as important to engage and empower nontraditional students – young women from diverse ethnic backgrounds and limited socioeconomic means – for career paths in environmental sciences. Four female graduate students volunteered as trip leaders; with their expertise in backpacking, youth activities, science, and web design, the program ended up with an A-Team. Though it was an incredible amount of work, the trip was fun and so I repeated the program with a new set of dedicated trip leaders in 2019. I never had a lack of volunteer leaders, as women seemed to intuitively know how important and powerful experiences like these were for girls. In 2020, the pandemic brought our program to a halt, and suddenly a complaint by the US Department of Education's (DOE's) Office of Civil Rights was lodged against NMSU for allowing an all-girls program, and thus discriminating against boys. So much attention for such a small program – but did the DOE have a point?

Over the past century, outdoor programs for youth were generally geared toward boys. In 1972, Title IX became law, thereby making gender-based discrimination illegal for educational programs that receive federal funding. Today in the US, arguments are being made that females receive more than 50% of university degrees conferred and that persistent disparities of representation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are caused by inherent gender differences rather than societal biases. Although college enrollment by women indeed continues to grow, women and minorities are still underrepresented in workforce and leadership roles, in STEM and beyond. Unarguably, gender differences exist. In middle and high school, many girls rapidly lose confidence in themselves and their abilities. Our female students often lack self-assurance and assertiveness, paralyzed by feelings of inferiority.

A society will be most fair and productive when young women and young men are encouraged equally to pursue their passions and dreams. Girls must navigate through a potentially dangerous world, one in which a recent CDC report (https://tinyurl.com/ytsfnmmr) finds them inundated with anxiety and subject to sexual violence. All-female programs provide safe zones for girls, where they can talk about and process the barriers they face, helping them develop resiliency. For most of our program's participants, it was the first time that they not only experienced the outdoors but also saw women in traditionally male-dominated roles. The message – that they as females can do this, too – is one that is easily lost in co-ed programs. With limited resources and funding, is it fair to deny girls an opportunity to be empowered and to let them know they are capable? By building girls’ confidence through self-efficacy, outdoor programs like ours, which physically and mentally challenge girls, can help them contribute to science discussions and nurture the skills needed to process the challenges of the world in which they live. Years later, former program participants tell me what a profound experience the trip was for them. How can a program that aims to empower the most vulnerable of our society – teen girls from low-income families – be deemed sexist? If we are serious about ensuring an equitable society, all-female programs should be encouraged, not prosecuted! I believe anyone who opposes such programs is afraid that equity might actually be achieved.

To recruit the best people into STEM disciplines and increase the perspectives and creativity necessary for addressing the complex problems that environmental sciences face, we require diversity. Underserved and underrepresented groups need additional encouragement to overcome cultural, social, socioeconomic, and gender barriers to put them on an even footing.

女权主义是一场旨在为女性提供职业和个人成长机会的运动。改善鼓励女孩克服身心挑战的方式是实现公平不可或缺的一部分。因此，在 2018 年，我启动了一个项目，带领十几名来自低收入家庭的高中女生进行背包探险，教授户外、领导力和环境科学技能。在新墨西哥州立大学 (NMSU) 担任教授 14 年后，我不仅更好地了解了女学生面临的一些文化差异和挑战，而且也更加了解了社会流动性的重要性。埃尔帕索-拉斯克鲁塞斯地区是该国最贫困的地区之一，该地区 80% 的人口是西班牙裔，只有 27% 的人口拥有大学学位。西班牙文化中的家庭关系紧密，女性通常负责照顾亲戚（包括弟弟妹妹或健康状况不佳的人），而这往往比学校更重要。因此，我认为这种类型的户外项目对于吸引和赋权非传统学生（来自不同种族背景和有限社会经济手段的年轻女性）在环境科学领域的职业道路非常重要。四名女研究生自愿​​担任旅行领队；凭借他们在背包旅行、青少年活动、科学和网页设计方面的专业知识，该项目最终组建了一支 A 团队。尽管工作量令人难以置信，但这次旅行很有趣，因此我在 2019 年与一组新的专门旅行领队重复了该计划。我从来不缺少志愿者领队，因为女性似乎直觉地知道这样的经历对于女孩来说是多么重要和强大。2020年，疫情让我们的项目陷入停滞，美国教育部（DOE）民权办公室突然向新墨西哥州立大学提出投诉，指控其允许全女生项目，从而歧视男生。如此小的项目受到如此多的关注——但能源部有道理吗？

在过去的一个世纪里，青少年户外活动一般都是针对男孩的。1972 年，《第九条》成为法律，从而使接受联邦资助的教育项目中基于性别的歧视成为非法。如今，在美国，有人认为女性获得了超过 50% 的大学学位，并且 STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）领域持续存在的代表性差异是由固有的性别差异而非社会偏见造成的。尽管女性的大学入学率确实在持续增长，但女性和少数族裔在 STEM 及其他领域的劳动力和领导角色中的代表性仍然不足。毫无疑问，性别差异是存在的。在初中和高中，许多女孩很快对自己和自己的能力失去了信心。

当年轻女性和年轻男性被平等地鼓励追求自己的激情和梦想时，社会将是最公平和富有成效的。女孩必须穿越一个潜在危险的世界，在这个世界中，疾病预防控制中心最近的一份报告 (https://tinyurl.com/ytsfnmmr) 发现她们充满焦虑并遭受性暴力。全女性项目为女孩提供了安全区，她们可以在这里谈论和处理她们面临的障碍，帮助她们培养适应能力。对于我们项目的大多数参与者来说，这是他们第一次不仅体验户外活动，而且第一次看到女性扮演传统上男性主导的角色。作为女性，她们也能做到这一点，这一信息很容易在男女混合项目中被忽视。在资源和资金有限的情况下，剥夺女孩获得赋权并让她们知道自己有能力的机会公平吗？通过自我效能建立女孩的信心，像我们这样的户外项目对女孩的身心提出挑战，可以帮助她们为科学讨论做出贡献，并培养应对她们所生活的世界的挑战所需的技能。多年后，前项目参与者告诉我，这次旅行对他们来说是一次多么深刻的经历。一个旨在增强我们社会中最弱势群体（来自低收入家庭的少女）权能的计划怎么能被视为性别歧视呢？如果我们认真确保社会公平，就应该鼓励而不是起诉全女性计划！我相信任何反对此类计划的人都担心公平可能真正实现。像我们这样的户外项目对女孩的身心提出挑战，可以帮助她们为科学讨论做出贡献，并培养应对她们所生活的世界的挑战所需的技能。多年后，前项目参与者告诉我，这次旅行对他们来说是一次多么深刻的经历。一个旨在增强我们社会中最弱势群体（来自低收入家庭的少女）权能的计划怎么能被视为性别歧视呢？如果我们认真确保社会公平，就应该鼓励而不是起诉全女性计划！我相信任何反对此类计划的人都担心公平可能真正实现。像我们这样的户外项目对女孩的身心提出挑战，可以帮助她们为科学讨论做出贡献，并培养应对她们所生活的世界的挑战所需的技能。多年后，前项目参与者告诉我，这次旅行对他们来说是一次多么深刻的经历。一个旨在增强我们社会中最弱势群体（来自低收入家庭的少女）权能的计划怎么能被视为性别歧视呢？如果我们认真确保社会公平，就应该鼓励而不是起诉全女性计划！我相信任何反对此类计划的人都担心公平可能真正实现。多年后，前项目参与者告诉我，这次旅行对他们来说是一次多么深刻的经历。一个旨在增强我们社会中最弱势群体（来自低收入家庭的少女）权能的计划怎么能被视为性别歧视呢？如果我们认真确保社会公平，就应该鼓励而不是起诉全女性计划！我相信任何反对此类计划的人都担心公平可能真正实现。多年后，前项目参与者告诉我，这次旅行对他们来说是一次多么深刻的经历。一个旨在增强我们社会中最弱势群体（来自低收入家庭的少女）权能的计划怎么能被视为性别歧视呢？如果我们认真确保社会公平，就应该鼓励而不是起诉全女性计划！我相信任何反对此类计划的人都担心公平可能真正实现。

为了招募最优秀的人才进入 STEM 学科并增加解决环境科学面临的复杂问题所需的视角和创造力，我们需要多样性。服务不足和代表性不足的群体需要额外的鼓励，以克服文化、社会、社会经济和性别障碍，使他们处于平等的地位。