On October 11, the world celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child. This year, the focus was on preparing girls to enter a world of work that is being transformed by innovation and automation.

It is widely acknowledged that one way to prepare girls for the emerging world of work is to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

As pointed out by Gwendoline Tilghman, the gender gap in STEM starts in school. When girls are not introduced to STEM technologies early in life, they are far less likely to pursue STEM degrees. Furthermore, girls are far less likely to study STEM subjects when their friends are not studying those subjects. 

We therefore call upon the United Nations to cement the legacy of the "A Skilled Girl Force Campaign." 

Specifically, we call upon the United Nations to establish an enduring program that gives girls the chance to shadow experts on data science, GIS, and robotics for decades to come.