Empowering Girls in STEM Around the World Impact Story Empowering Girls in STEM Around the World By Estíbaliz Líppez Share this naette.lee Tue, 02/10/2026 - 12:55 "What impacted me the most was learning how to code and turning a project into something real." For Marianna Victória, a high school student in São Paulo, Brazil, that moment opened the door to possibility. Marianna was one of 84 young people selected for the Let's Learn STEAM – Lenovo 2025 project, led by United Way Brazil. Half of the participants were girls, a deliberate choice as women make up just 35 percent of STEM graduates worldwide, according to UNESCO. For Marianna, the program offered something many girls never receive: encouragement from leaders in STEM fields and opportunities to learn and create STEM solutions. As the project unfolded, the challenge deepened. A hackathon that began with dozens of participants narrowed to just three who stayed through mounting pressure and deadlines. Marianna was one of them.…