Recently, I participated in an event in the Phoenix area called Girls Get IT, put on by the Maricopa Community Colleges.  This event was open to girls in grades 7-12 interested in tech.  Several hundred middle and high school-aged girls were brought together to learn about various tech topics and possible career paths they could follow, the opportunity to speak to professionals in the field, and of course, get some great swag (we all love swag)!

               First, there was an opening keynote by a female Physician.  I was interested to see how she would relate it to tech and was blown away.  This woman has been at the forefront of developing remote doctor’s visits and medical record tracking during the pandemic!  She was inspiring and informative about yet another tech area I was unfamiliar with.

Then, I was able to assist in a workshop session led by a college professor discussing the areas of chip manufacturing and lasers.  This is a timely topic with building new semiconductor plants in Phoenix.  The girls got to try putting on protective gear, using a very expensive microscope to show and print 3d mod3D models of things as small as semiconductors, and directing light through prisms.  There was a lot of interest and a lot of giggles.  Seeing the girls interact with the professor and the items he brought was very neat.  Other topics on the list ranged from using Excel, manipulating images, esports, and mobile development.

               Later, we lunched with the girls, and they had time to ask us professionals questions about our careers.  The biggest question I got was about my career path.  They wanted to know how to build a career, not just enter it.  I could share not only my own story, but many other interesting stories of women I have met and how they got into tech – that it is not always a straight path and there are so many different directions you can go.

               We wrapped up with a networking think tank on how we can all help attract more girls to tech.  We all agreed the event was a great start, and there needs to be more!  Unfortunately, the organizers had to turn girls away, there was so much interest!  This shows a strong interest in these types of programs where students can see hands-on ways to get involved in tech and learn from people already in the field.  If we can spark interest in girls from middle school and show them how interesting it can be, we can attract more women to study tech in the future.  These programs would not be challenging to set up at colleges and universities nationwide.

I hope we continue to see more programs like this!

#GirlsGetIT #womenintech