Microsoft is celebrating International Women’s Day 2017 with a new campaign to inspire women around the world to #MakeWhatsNext.
Corporate vice president of Microsoft Philanthropies, Mary Snapp, wants girls to stay in tech and #MakeWhatsNext. In an article, she said
“We are acutely aware of the need to close the gender gap in the technology industry, and in all STEM fields. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, women currently hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. And, globally, only 16 percent of female students graduate from STEM subjects, according to the World Economic Forum. This needs to change.”
She continued “Women’s equal representation in the technology industry, and in all STEM fields, is not only a matter of fairness. Our economies and our societies lose out when we fail to engage half of the world’s brainpower in our engines of innovation”.
Time, energy and resources are to be invested in a these four key areas;
- Celebrating the many contributions women already make.
- Increasing access to computer science education.
- Stepping the industry up- dedicating resources to recruit top-notch female talent into technical roles.
- Supporting female inventors.
Microsoft and LinkedIn launched a new site to promote #MakeWhatsNext and “turn your passion into action” with science,technology, engineering or math (STEM) jobs from LinkedIn that can help change the world.
