Participants in the 2010 National Math and Science Young Leaders Program at the capstone event in June.

Promising young college women majoring in science and math were once again the beneficiaries of a highly successful, one-on-one mentoring program that paired students with FORTUNE 500 female executives working in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

In its second year, the National Math and Science Young Leaders Program is designed to provide encouragement to female college students who are majoring in critical STEM subjects. The Program, which was launched by NMSI, FORTUNE magazine and Exxon Mobil Corporation, has afforded young women the opportunity to interact with and learn from women at the top echelons of American business, with the goal of helping to address the gender gap in math and science.

"We have an urgent problem. One half of the practicing engineers will retire in the next decade. If we don't solve the girl problem, we will lose hundreds of thousands of jobs because there aren't enough American students in STEM fields," cautioned Margaret Mattix, the Vice President of Global Marketing for ExxonMobil Chemical Company and one of the executive mentors.

Margaret Mattix (r.), Vice President of Global Marketing for ExxonMobil Chemical Company, spoke to the Young Leaders about her experiences.

This year's Young Leaders Program brought together young women representing colleges and universities from all over the country and executives from companies such as eBay, Emerson, DuPont, Marvell, ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, AXA Equitable, ACS Healthcare, Archer Daniels Midland, Intel, Black Rock Advisors, Accel, Time Inc., Electronic Arts, Prescription Solutions, WalMart Information Systems, Alcoa Oil and Gas, and Affiliated Computer Services.

The students participated in regular webinars, visited their mentors at their job sites, and attended the Program's concluding "capstone event" in New York City in June, where the students had the opportunity to meet one another and share their personal experiences and hopes for the future.

At the capstone event, the students also received career and leadership advice from executives like Mattix and Dr. Beth Lange, Chief Scientific Officer at Mary Kay Corp., a $2.5 billion company with operations around the world. "I am a scientist, and I love my life," Lange told the students. She encouraged the students to pursue advanced degrees, take advantage of leadership training opportunities, learn language skills to broaden their opportunities in the international arena, and seek mentors along the way.

"You have the skill set and abilities to make change in the world - and we need it," advised Louise Rosen, director of academic programs at the Earth Institute at Columbia University. "From studying the impact of ocean currents on climate change...to creating more nutritious rice to feed to world...to perfecting new types of batteries and solar lights," she said, "women can be the problem solvers in math and science that the world needs."

But the gender gap in math and science is still a significant problem in the United States. While the numbers are inching up, fewer than 10 percent of American engineers today are women.

Mattix pointed out that when she was an engineering student three decades ago, she was one of only two women in her engineering program. "If you had told me 30 years ago that we would still need to have this conversation today, I think I would have been shocked," Mattix told the group of college women.

The issue is not that girls cannot do the work; the problem is girls often do not feel welcome in STEM classes or jobs. As a result, women constitute 46 percent of the workforce in the U.S, but hold just 26 percent of the jobs in STEM fields. Those numbers have to change - and soon - if the U.S. hopes to remain a leader in today's global marketplace.

"We must cultivate the interest and passion of these young people for the U.S. to remain competitive with other countries in today's high-tech global marketplace," said Tom Luce, CEO of the National Math and Science Initiative. "That's why this program is so important. It's heartening to see that some of the best and brightest business leaders in our country are contributing their time and sharing their leadership skills with the next generation of women majoring in math and science."

The students, who were selected by academic officials at their universities, represent a broad spectrum of higher education institutions, including the University of California-Davis, Washington University, University of Pennsylvania, UC-Berkeley, University of Houston, University of Michigan, Columbia University, University of Cincinnati, Stanford University, University of Illinois, University of Oregon, Ohio State University, Rice University, Carnegie Mellon University, Xavier University, University of Chicago, Iowa State University, CalTech University, and the University of Arkansas.

By the end of the program, the college students reported they had been inspired - to aim higher, go to graduate school, become a CEO, get involved with science policy and, most important, pay it forward to the next generation by mentoring young girls themselves. As one student noted, "I want to show them that social stereotypes about women in science being 'uncool' are silly."

For more information, or to support the Young Leaders program, contact Alia Mohmed at (214) 665-2500 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .