December 4th 2017 
Million Women Mentors Reaches One Million Completed Pledges and Over 2.2 Million Pledges!
EXCITING NEWS!!!!
December 1, 2017
Million Women Mentors® (MWM) initiative is pleased to announce the reaching of ONE MILLION COMPLETED PLEDGES that have been registered in the MWM Portal.
This 1 million was achieved largely through our BE COUNTED! Campaign and represents the aggregation of mentoring relationships by corporations, nonprofits, states and other entities nationally. We want to thank each of you who had a part in the movement thus far and to those that are supporting us now. 

Women Who Code Announce Winners
Women Who Code  (WWCode), the world’s largest nonprofit organization working to support the success of women engineers, is proud to announce the winners of the 2017 #ApplaudHer Awards. This honor was bestowed upon women in 13 categories and was given in recognition of their contributions and accomplishments within the technology industry.
The winners were announced last night at the  Second Annual Women Who Code Awards  2017. Over 100 people were in attendance to celebrate the event and support Women Who Code in their work to inspire women to excel in technology careers. Sponsors for the ceremony included  Github ,  Samsung ,  Hired ,  Plex ,  Capital One ,  VMWare ,  Saint Archer Brewing ,  Hova Labs ,  Peroni , and Galvanize .

The winners of the awards were as follows:

  • Ignite Award: Vicki Cheung, Head of Infrastructure, OpenAI
  • Rise Award: Maria Kazandjieva, Engineering Manager, Netflix
  • Innovator Award: Kimberly Mach, Senior Software Engineer, Microsoft 
  • Visionary Award: Martha Arellano, Cloud Platform Architect, VISUAL VOCAL
  • Open Source Award: Erin Spiceland, Engineer, NodeSource
  • Founder Award: Fatima Dicko, Founder & CEO, jetpack
  • Phoenix Award: Lori Hill, Software Engineer, NBC
  • Localization Award: Mimi Hills, Director, Product Globalization, VMware 
  • Senior Leadership Award:Ann Yeung, Sr. Director, Software Engineering, Capital One
  • VPE Award: Dory Weiss, VP of Engineering, nCino 
  • Director of Engineering Award: Selena Deckelmann, Director of Engineering, Firefox Runtime, Mozilla 
  • Engineering Lead Award: Laurence Girard, Engineering Lead API and DevOps, GIPHY
  • Thought leadership Award: Max Whitney, VP of Engineering, Max Amalgamated


Mentors Needed!
Our valued MWM partner, 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
PAKISTAN: WOW Festival Continues to Celebrate Women Leaders and Raising the Next
The Women of the World (WOW) festival is back in Karachi with its second installment. 
Organized by the British Council Pakistan in collaboration with TAF Foundation, PILER, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute and Saturday Studio, the event is a celebration of the identity and achievements of women and girls in view of the socioeconomic challenges that are faced by them.
Panel discussions on the first day of the festival talked about the importance of identity and self- worth, how embracing one's identity is crucial to progress and success, and how gender stereotypes stop us from embracing our true identities.

AUSTRALIA: Gender Quotas for Top Corporate Roles Risk Backfiring on Women
One of West Australia’s most senior businesswomen has warned that mandatory quotas to get more women into top corporate roles risks putting them in the “horrible” position of working with people who did not respect or support them.
Sharon Warburton said a two-year stint in Abu Dhabi as the only woman on an executive team had been “very tough” because her presence, which was partly down to a push for gender diversity, was not welcomed by all.
“I wouldn’t say that they used language as tight as quotas and targets, which in Australia we’ve come to roll off the tongue but I would say I worked as an executive in an environment where it wasn’t all of my peers’ unanimous decision for me to be there,” she told The Weekend West.

AUSTRALIA: Empowering The Next Generation of Women in STEM
Bringing coding to high schools across Sydney, Coder Academy is working to get girls interested (or at the very least, aware of) the opportunities that are available in STEM fields - before they begin to think about their university and career choices.
The program, dubbed "Code Next", is so important that Vodafone has thrown its weight behind it. This initiative, and others like it, are making a real change.
"The jobs of the future are changing," Vodafone's Director of HR, Vanessa Hicks told Gizmodo Australia, "and that means skills such as coding are becoming increasingly valuable for students to compete in the workforce."

CANADA: STEM Programs Still Missing Mark With Women
The latest 2016 Canadian census information was released this week. Lots of statistics relating to labour, education, commutes to work and migration, among other things.
One of the census findings was that among young people who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a STEM (science technology, engineering or math) program, men were almost twice as likely as women to be working in science and technology occupations.
The census data also revealed that overall, fewer than 20 per cent of working-age Canadians with post-secondary degrees, men and women alike, chose the STEM path. That leaves the female ranks lacking indeed.

CANADA: Amplify - The Simple, Yet Powerful, Act of Amplification
In the White House, when female staffers want to share a thought, other women will repeat the idea and credit the original speaker. They do this to make an idea harder to ignore or steal. The women call it " amplification ."
Here at The Globe, we were inspired by this simple and powerful action, the act of "amplification."
Each newsletter, arriving in your inbox Saturday mornings, will be brought to you by a female Globe guest editor. Each editor will delve into a different topic, from climate change to women in STEM to sexual harassment in the workplace, helping to explain, analyze and draw attention to subjects that matter to Canadian women.

Dear Pioneers!
We are heading into the final month of 2017, and Education Reimagined is gearing up to contribute to the learner-centered movement in bigger and bolder ways in the coming year. We want to thank you for the support you have given to the movement as a subscriber to Pioneering and your personal contributions at the local, regional, and national level.

For the first time, we are directly inviting our readers to share our work with your friends, families, and networks and to consider  contributing financially to our work. We hope that you find Education Reimagined to be a valuable resource in the field and will consider supporting us to continue accelerating the learner-centered movement in whatever way makes sense for you.
In our 46th issue of Pioneering, head north to Wisconsin and discover how every learner is introduced to learning at Norris Academy. Then, sit back and enjoy three articles that go behind the scenes at our second SparkHouse gathering, explore the beautiful balance between structure and freedom, and provide helpful framework in forming mentoring opportunities with local businesses. If you see something that strikes a chord, share it with a friend or colleague.

St. Cloud-Area School Girls Explore STEM Careers
School girls, college students, industry professionals and professors joined forces Nov. 4 to explore STEM careers the third Tech Savvy program, held at St. Cloud State University’s Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory Facility and other campus buildings.
Tech Savvy is for girls in grades five through nine. It is a one-day program developed by the American Association of University Women in response to research showing significantly less women than men pursue STEM careers. It is presented in collaboration with St. Cloud State and the College of St. Benedict.

TCAPS STEM Program Earns State Recognition, Set To Expand
Traverse City Area Public Schools (TCAPS) Superintendent Paul Soma told board members this week he “recognized really early in working with Heidi the talent that she has relative to the STEM fields” and felt her leadership in developing STEM curriculum shouldn’t be restricted solely to Central High School. Soma said administrators “quietly worked with Heidi to start building a STEM vision for the school district,” calling the growth of the program in recent years “nothing short of an absolutely fantastic success.”
Saunders spoke of transferring to TCAPS specifically for the SCI-MA-TECH program, and her enjoyment joining other SCI-MA-TECH students in mentoring elementary school students through TechGirls, a program that started with five members in January and has grown to 20 with a focus on encouraging young women and minorities to pursue a passion for STEM. 

Society of Woman Engineers Promotes STEM Education
The Society of Women Engineers held an Introduction to Engineering Workshop at Independence Charter School in Center City Nov. 17 with the goal of encouraging middle school girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
“[To] stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life and demonstrate the value of diversity,” Kristine Loh, the outreach director for SWE, said while explaining the SWE mission.
During Friday’s workshop, volunteers from SWE utilized hands-on activities to promote the STEM field as an option for the young girls. These activities included chemical, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering tasks, using chromatography, structural shapes, circuitry and Rube Goldberg projects.

Mentoring is Key to San Antonio Economic Competitiveness
Through our relationship with  MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership , we plan to drive the people of San Antonio to meet the city’s demand for mentors — and ultimately add to the economic value and vibrancy of our city. Through this, we’ll be able to promote and encourage our businesses to get involved in the initiative. MENTOR provides an opportunity for programs to communicate their needs for mentors while simultaneously identifying opportunities for a variety of age groups and careers, including K-12, post-secondary, young professionals and veterans.

The Hidden Hierarchy of Adjectives
Meera Santhanam - Prefacing gender neutral titles with "female" or "woman" perpetuates the notion that these roles are mostly reserved for men.
Every time I hear the phrase “woman entrepreneur” or “female CEO,” I cringe on the inside. Woman entrepreneur? Female CEO? Really? Why do we need to modify these ostensibly gender neutral terms?  
As a feminist, I understand the underlying intent behind using these adjectives to highlight the growing presence of women in historically male-dominated fields. But when it reaches the point where language that is meant to shatter gender stereotypes inadvertently perpetuates them, I hear a siren go off. Yes, our society is far from the point where we have complete gender equality in traditionally male-dominated fields. Yes, that means that the women who do enter these fields should be recognized so we can encourage more women to follow suit and break gender stereotypes. But no, that does not mean that we should use language that treats the presence of women in these fields as an anomaly to describe the changing workforce. 

Facebook Executive Hears People Say Why You Shouldn’t Hire Women. Sanberg Speaks On Why You Should.
Sheryl Sanberg talks about how hiring, mentoring and promoting women is the only long-term solution to sexual harassment, which is all about power, according to Sandberg. In her post, she also outlines some basic guidelines that companies should follow if they’re serious about preventing harassment at work.
The solution certainly isn’t the so-called Pence rule ― the vice president reportedly will not dine alone with another woman unless his wife is present ― as some have suggested. Instead, Sandberg writes, men should strive to treat colleagues and employees equally. If you won’t dine or drink alone with a woman, then you shouldn’t do it with a man either.

Meet Seven Women Who Ran for Office in Erie County
It’s no secret that computer and information technology jobs are the future of our digital economy. It’s one of the fastest-growing occupation categories in the United States and is projected to grow 13 percent by 2026. Yet, recent U.S. data shows there are more than 500,000 open computing jobs and fewer than 40,000 new computer science graduates to fill them. What’s more, only 7,000 of those grads are women.
If our future economy is centered on computing and IT, how are we going to get more women interested in this field? How will we arm them with marketable skills so they can thrive in the digital economy? And, how can we get girls from the STEM classroom to the boardroom? 

Here are the 4 Women Named Women of the Year for Tech in Georgia
The Women in Technology Awards  honor  female leaders of Georgia-based science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics companies for their accomplishments that further their organizations and make a difference in their communities.
The four award categories are small, medium, large/enterprise and nonprofit. The award also honors one "Girl of the Year" for her participation in the WIT Girls program.
Here are the honorees, which were announced Nov. 16 at an event held at the Georgia Aquarium.
  1. Denise Hines, DHA, executive director and CEO of the Georgia Health Information Network and eHealth Services Group, was honored in the small and emerging organization category.
  2. Maryam Alavi, PhD, dean and professor at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, was honored in the medium/mid-size organization and educational institution category.
  3. Connie Taylor, vice president of global research and development for Manhattan Associates, was honored in the large/enterprise organization category.
  4. Jennifer Bonnet, director of the Advanced Technology Development Center, was honored in the nonprofit category.
  5. Elaine Wen, an Anti-Defamation League student representative and Girls in STEM club cofounder who attends North Springs High School, was honored with the Girl of the Year Award.
Girls in Tech Phx Launching AI Platform to Better Connect Mentors with Mentees
Girls in Tech Phoenix has partnered with a San Francisco-based tech company to launch a female-first artificial intelligence mentoring and social platform.
Women business leaders, entrepreneurs and other women community members are being asked to join LeadForCareer for Girls in Tech, the platform that connects like-minded mentors and mentees using AI.
The Phoenix chapter is the first to launch this platform in the Girls in Tech organization, with other chapters interested in learning more, said  Carine Dieude , the mentorship chairwoman with Girls in Tech.

The Companies Where Women Most Like To Work
Treatment of women in the workplace has been one of the hottest topics of the year, and for good reason. Sexual misconduct allegations against media moguls have drawn the most attention, but it’s equally important to keep a pulse on everyday workplaces across the country.
Using employee reviews submitted this year, careers site  Comparably released a list of the large companies where women most like to work. An organization needed at least 25 reviews to qualify. The list isn’t a ranking, so the top companies are shown in alphabetical order at the end of this article.

How the Women Behind a Mentoring Startup Raised More than $1 Million
Friends since school, Lucy Lloyd and Heidi Holmes (pictured above) created their mentor-matching startup Mentorloop when they were both going through a career change and couldn’t find the advice they needed. They’ve just closed a mega investment round. 
For Lucy Lloyd, co-founder of mentor-matching startup Mentorloop, the last few months of raising an oversubscribed $725,000 seed round has been a “whirlwind”.
“It’s one of those things where you have so many points where you’re thinking, ‘I’m not going to pull this off, it’s not going to happen’, and then you get to the end of it and then it’s all suddenly done,” Lloyd told our friends at StartupSmart.


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