Accenture workshop targets tech industry gender gap

16 January 2015 Consultancy.uk

Today, Friday 16th January, consulting firm Accenture and STEMettes organise the largest UK event for girls, #NEDigitalGirls, to stimulate them to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). The one-day event is held at the Sage in Newcastle and open to 300 girls from 31 schools in the North East.

STEMettes
STEMettes is an UK organisation set up in 2013 to combat the lack of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and inspire the next generation of STEM females. The organisation is run by a group of volunteers from the industry and organises panel events, hackathons, exhibitions, and mentoring schemes around the country.

Accenture has decided to partner with STEMettes to host a host a workshop and career event that aims at encouraging girls to develop a career in technology, a decision that illustrates the firm’s commitment to women and narrowing the gap between men and women in the workplace.* “Accenture believes that businesses need to collaborate with the education sector to tackle the technology skills gap. There is a shortage of women joining the technology sector, but if we can work together to ignite girls' interest in technology from an early age, we can help to address this challenge and ensure that the UK is equipped with the skills we need to compete in the digital economy,” explains Emma McGuigan, Managing Director of Technology at Accenture UK & Ireland.

Accenture - Girls do science too

#NEDigitalGirls
The event, called #NEDigitalGirls, is open to eleven- to thirteen-year-olds from schools in the North East. Through workshops, the girls will be introduced to webpage building, 3D printing, forensic science, and technology dance. In addition, several guest speakers will share their real life experiences and talk about opportunities available to women in the technology industry. These speakers include women from Accenture, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), Newcastle University, The Wellcome Trust and Schools North East.

* The firm is supporting several women’s programs and initiatives, including mentoring, networking, training and development courses to help attract, retain and advance women. An example of such another effort is its partnership with Girls Who Code, aimed at assisting young women to secure a career in technology.