September 11th 2017 



Spotlight Speakers!
Tonie Leatherberry
President, Deloitte Foundation
Deloitte
Dionne Wallace Oakley
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Erie Insurance
Register for the Million Women Mentors Summit and Awards HERE


Pleasse make hotel reservations at one of the following hotels:
Proven Strategies to Prepare Students for CS Careers
On August 9th at 11:00 AM, four incredible educational thought leaders spoke on their signature statewide and other initiatives to help prepare students for the 21st Century Workforce. This webinar focuses on the importance of computer science and career awareness for students.

Moderated by: Former US Congressman Zach Wamp
Speakers Include:
– Dr. Kathleen Airhart, Deputy Commissioner of Education,  Tennessee DOE ,  Drive to 55
– Ruthe Farmer, Chief Evangelist,  CSforAll Consortium
– Balaji Ganapathy, Head of HR Workforce Effectiveness,  Tata Consultancy Services
– Johnny Key, Commissioner of Education,  Arkansas DOE

Mentors Needed!
Our valued MWM parter, Mentored Pathways, is looking for additional mentors to help serve a number of students across the United States. Utilizing a vast network of middle and high school educators, Mentored Pathways provides the opportunity for mentors to match with students focused on specific projects to help boost their understanding and desire for the STEM path. You may find more information by going to their website - MentoredPathways.org
NEW ZEALAND: Guiding Women on the Pathways to Leadership
Southern Rural Life asks Silver Fern Farms director Fiona Hancox her views on the recent ‘‘Women in Horticulture’’ report commissioned by Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ).
I think there is a general agreement that improving the gender balance in leadership and governance roles within the agricultural industry would have a positive effect.
It must be remembered this is not simply a gender issue, because diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, education, background and more.

BANGLADESH: The New Season of “Digital Innovation Challenge for Women” has Begun
The second season of “Digital Innovation Challenge for Women” 2017 has kick-started with a new hope. After a successful season in 2016, this technology based contest for women has returned to motive women in the field of digital technology.
The contest is powered by Microsoft Bangladesh in association with The Daily Star and organized by Women in Digital.

SOUTH CHINA: Close the Gender Gap in the Technology Industry
Men dominate the tech industry from startup founders through investors to those in computing and technical roles. There are no statistics as to the percentage of women in Hong Kong working in technology, but anecdotal evidence correlates with global figures. Women hold only 25 per cent of computer jobs and in Silicon Valley, just 11 per cent of executive positions. At government - subsidized universities in Hong Kong, female representation in engineering and technology courses is 29.5 per cent and in the sciences, 38.4 per cent.

NIGERIA: Nigerian Prodigy Demystifying Mathematics and Science
She wasn’t just a child prodigy, even as a young adult, she continues to break records and set new ones – and now commits to helping women and girls to overcome their phobia for science and mathematics. Meet British-born Nigerian phenomenon, Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE.
She has been listed as a ‘person to watch’ by numerous major publications, including the Guardian, which named her one of 10 women in ‘tech you need to meet’.
Anne-Marie Osawemwense Ore-Ofe Imafidon, the oldest of the Nigerian family of prodigies dubbed the ‘smartest family in Britain’, is a computing, mathematics and language prodigy.

INDIA: TIE Global and U.S. Embassy, New Delhi and Consulates partner to empower women entrepreneurs from 27 Indian cities 
An important Milestone on the Road to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, TiE Global (TiE Inc.) has created significant economic impact by mentoring 125 women in 27 mostly Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India. A first-of-its-kind program, the All-India Road Show on Women’s Economic Empowerment through Entrepreneurship (AIRSWEEE), was initiated in September 2016 with the objective of educating and inspiring women in small cities in India.

UNITED KINGDOM: Government Turns Down Proposals Aimed at Increasing Female MPs in Commons
The government have dismissed six proposals put forward by The Commons Women and Equalities Committee calling to increase the number of female members in parliament. Ministers have faced criticism for showing their 'lack of ambition' in trying to tackle the gender imbalance. 
Currently, men make up 70% of the total MPS. Worrying reports from the IPPR showed that 3,000 female candidates would be needed for there to be gender parity in local government. 

AUSTRALIA: Bunbury Teacher Scoops National Award for Inspiring Aboriginal Girls to Enjoy Maths
Bunbury teacher Ashley Stewart has won a national award for her work inspiring Aboriginal girls to enjoy maths classes.
The Newton Moore Senior High School maths department head last week received the top teaching prize awarded by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute for mentoring girls in maths.
Ms Stewart used hands-on projects such as building a hand-cranked phone charger to spark the interest of Year 8 Aboriginal girls in mathematical concepts.
She said that not only did the students show more interest in maths but their behaviour and attendance levels also improved.
Ms Stewart, who studied engineering before becoming a teacher six years ago, said too many girls started believing they were not good at maths at a young age. “I found there were too few women in engineering in general and I was quite bothered by that because I didn’t feel supported,” she said.

State Starting Push for More Science, Math and Engineering Students, Especially Among Women
State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, directs a question regarding revenue shortfalls to Barry Dusse´, Director of Planning & Budget for the Division of Administration, during presentation of Gov. John Bel Edwards' Fiscal Year 2017-2018 Executive Budget proposal to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget,Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017 at the State Capitol.
Louisiana is about to launch a new bid to elevate one of the hottest fields in education, and improve on the dismal number of women in science, technology, engineering and math.
The targeted careers – known as STEM – will be the topic of an influential panel authorized by the Legislature earlier this year, and set to hold its first meeting on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The goal is to boost student interest in science, technology, engineering and math; align those skills with fast-growing workforce needs and increase the number of women with STEM degrees.

Professor Earns Tech Titans Award for Years
of Mentoring Women in STEM Fields
UT Dallas professor Dr. Magaly Spector received a 2017 Tech Titans Award for her work mentoring women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at the  Tech Titans   Awards Gala , an event recognizing outstanding technology companies and individuals in North Texas.
Spector, assistant to the provost for strategic initiatives and professor in practice at UT Dallas, received the Tech Titans of the Future Award-University Level for her work creating the  Young Women in Science and Engineering (YWISE) Investigators  program through the  Office of the Provost  and the  Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science  at UT Dallas. The honor includes $25,000 in funding for YWISE Investigators, established in 2012 to encourage young women from underprivileged backgrounds to explore STEM careers.

Reshma Saujani Is on a Mission to Fix Tech’s Women Problem — One Girl at a Time
Reshma Saujani, a lawyer with a career in politics, decided she wanted to change that. Saujani launched  Girls Who Code in 2012, a national non-pr ofit that aims to close the gender gap in tech by — you guessed it — teaching girls how to code. Along the way, she’s helped spark a global movement. 
Girls Who Code recruits girls between the ages of seven and 13 to give them an education in all things STEM.  Fewer than half  of US schools teach computer programming, which is where Girls Who Code will help fill in the gap to keep interest continued over time and through college — with a focus on girls.

Meadowbrook Students Explore Science Through Tech Trek
Three Meadowbrook Middle School students recently explored science and technology at the annual Tech Trek camp.
Yesenia Cruz, Kailee Johnstone and Ashley Perez, all 13-year-old eighth-graders, were sent to the camp on the campus of UCSD by the Poway-Peñasquitos Branch of the American Association of University Women.
Tech Trek is a one-week, academic residential science and math camp designed to develop interest, excitement and self-confidence in middle school girls, according to a press release. The girls spend a week living on a college campus and participating in hands-on activities in math, science and related fields. Instructors include credentialed middle school teachers and women who are currently engaged in STEM fields.

It’s a bird, it’s a plane: It’s Miss Vermont!
Miss Vermont, Erin Connor, started the 97th Miss America pageant above the rest of the competition when she flew herself to Atlantic City, N.J., in a low-wing Piper Arrow airplane.
Connor, 22, got her private pilot certificate as a teenager from Vermont Flight Academy.
“Her platform is STEM and women in education, and it’s something she wanted to do, so she went after it,” White said.

New Program Immerses Teens in STEM Challenges
The Wolff-Zackin Natatorium at UConn is a hive of activity. Girls from junior high through high school sit at the pool’s edge, some dangling their feet in the water, all focused intently on operating underwater robots using the remote controls in their hands.
They are participants in the  Engineering Diversity and Outreach Center ’s new  SPARK engineering camp  for girls, and they built the robots themselves.
“At first I was like ‘I’m going to make that robot?’ But I did it and I’m proud of myself,” says Monica Robinson, a student from Glastonbury who was poolside. “It was overwhelming at first, but I didn’t give up.”

Nancy Deutsch: Focus on Building Relationships Between Youths and Mentors
Group mentoring, in which multiple adults and youth come together either formally or informally, may be a useful model for more after-school programs. One example is the Young Women Leaders Program, based at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. It offers a combination of group activities and individual mentoring, which empowers middle school girls to support one another and improve themselves, including their social and relational skills.

From Apple to Y Combinator—Tech Sector Denounces New “Dreamers” Plan
Attorney General Jeff Session s  announced  the decision Tuesday to end President Barack Obama's so-called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was implemented in 2012. The program's demise was delayed six months to give Congress a chance to legalize the measure. Sessions said it was "unconstitutional" without Congressional approval. There are as many as 800,000 known Dreamers.

"It's against our values to turn our backs on #DREAMers," Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's new chief executive,   tweeted .
"It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American Dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it," Zuckerberg wrote.

WiSTEM - Women in STEM
WiSTEM (Women In STEM) will be held September 11-12 in San Francisco as an Affiliate Partner of Mobile World Congress Americas –  www.mwcamericas.com. WiSTEM also hosts an annual Awards Gala and convenes an audience of 500+ from 20 nations. WiSTEM attendees get free access to MWC exhibits.

BEYOND MARISSA MAYER: 25 Powerful Women Engineers In Tech
There's an awful lot of hand wringing in the Valley over how few women are becoming engineers, particularly software engineers.
Less than 12 percent of computer science degrees earned in 2010-11 were awarded to women.
But here's the crazy thing. For those who do enter the field, the sky's the limit. There's ample opportunity to become a big power player, at big companies and at hot startups.

Women in STEM Careers Series Kicks off with Danielle Aronson
The Women in STEM careers series kicks off with Danielle Aronson, practice manager of customer engagement at  Tribridge.
This new series highlights a different woman every month in a Q&A format about their roles and how they entered a STEM career. For instance, Aronson delivers this answer to a question about advice for women looking to enter a STEM career:
“Be confident in yourself and what you know, and take the opportunity to learn what you don’t know. I realize there are statistics that say otherwise, but I’ve never felt like I was at a career disadvantage being a woman,” she says. 

Tech Tours!

For the last 4 months they've been on the road talking to locals and influencers about the future of work in their cities. They're getting ready for their San Francisco tour and would love to see you there!

Top 3 Reasons YOU should come to our tour stop!
 
  1. FIND A JOB. 20+ growing startups are recruiting and are looking for great talent like you.
  2. Mentoring With Megan. Need we say more?
  3. Hear incredible speakers!
Next Tour Locations!
In a recent Gallup study, only 11 percent of corporate executives perceived that college graduates had the skills they were looking for. How can we better prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow? 
In her new book, Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America (Taylor and Francis: March 28, 2017) mentoring expert Patty empowers professionals – whether they are bankers, lawyers, architects, accountants, engineers, IT specialists or artists – to bring their real-world experience and her project based mentoring model into the classroom. 
Compelling and insightful, the book reveals how professionals can embark on a journey to transform lives, mentoring one student at a time. 
“You have made a difference in the lives of these kids, and most likely you have made a difference in the lives of their kids as well. They have grabbed hold of your light, because they feel your encouragement and kindness, and maybe because they had no other. Thank you for your important leadership in this role.” 
— Chris Gardener, Author of The Pursuit of Happyness, 2010 NFTE Dare to Dream speech 
For more information visit  www.teachtowork.com
 
Women’s Quick Facts brings to life insightful data on the impact of women that everyone should know. From purchasing power, to how efficient women owned companies are with respect to capital compared to men, this book takes the pulse on women in today’s modern economy. Not only does each page compile a broad spectrum of the most current data, it also brings the numbers to life in bite size, easy to read content.

Million Women Mentors | STEMconnector | 202-304-1964 | [email protected] | www.MillionWomenMentors.org