Mathematics, science, and technology are critical areas of study for jobs of tomorrow. However, fewer than 33 percent of participants in computer courses and related activities are girls. Additionally, girls comprise only about 37% of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) computer science classes across the nation, and last year were only 9 percent of the students who took the advanced AP computer science exam for college credit. (Breakdowns were unavailable by race.) (American Association of University Women, Gender Gaps: Where Schools Still Fail Our Children, 1998 and Tech-Savvy: Educating Girls in the New Computer Age , 2000)

African-American girls today have a 1 in 6,000 chance of getting a Ph.D. in mathematics, engineering, or the physical sciences; 1 in 390 chance of becoming a doctor and 1 in 155 chance of becoming a lawyer.

But that same girl has a 1 in 125 chance of becoming a current crack user; 1 in 28 chance of going to prison before she dies; 1 in 8 chance of never graduating from high school; 4 in 5 chance of never graduating from college and a 1 in 3 chance of having a child before her 20th birthday. (Report by the Children's Defense Fund)