GWI is proud to sponsor a movement that is smashing the glass ceiling of the technology industry and changing the lives of thousands of young girls across Australia.
GWI’s sponsorship of Tech Girls Movement will help the Australian not-for-profit group continue a program comprised of female role models who provide real life guidance to help young girls excel at Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Dr Vanessa Douglas-Savage, Consulting Director for GWI, has been an active supporter of the program and is a newly appointed board member of the Tech Girls Movement.
Vanessa said the program is vital for the future of the industry.
“Parents are often not afraid to give boys an iPad and say ‘go and work out this game’,” Vanessa said. “But with a girl, we still see parents give them an iPad and download a hair and make-up game.
“There’s a final, bigger glass ceiling and as an industry we need more cross population. We have to stop making our industry seem unreachable and stereotyping the workers in the industry, and we need to stop portraying these mystical barriers that stop women getting involved.
“Evidence shows that a diverse team delivers stronger and richer results and ways of thinking, we see this time and time again within GWI where we record a 50/50 balance in genders.
“Quite frankly, we owe it to the future of our industries and the future workplaces, and it’s one of the main reasons why we continue to sponsor such a program.”
STEM provides young women with the necessary skills to excel not only in technology, but in whichever future path they take.
Tech Girls Movement has an ultimate goal of getting 10,000 girls in STEM by 2020, and the organisation has distributed 80,000 free books to primary and secondary schools across Australia.
