At Microsoft, we pride ourselves in reaching out to our community and using technology and skills to improve it. Our outreach is intended to further social good and civic improvement for all. Last week, I was pleased to be in New York City joining top tech and STEM strategists to promote equality, education, and beyond in the city and around the world.
On Wednesday morning, I headed to DigiGirlz at Microsoft New York’s Times Square headquarters for an event to inspire young girls to get interested in STEM education and computer science. I had the opportunity to meet with 150 students who participated in hands-on workshops on coding, circuitry, and other important facets of computer science. It was inspiring to me to see the talent and enthusiasm in the room; this was exemplified by a five-year old girl actively joining high school students in these activities. It was encouraging to see the engagement of Carmen Fariña, Chancellor of New York City Schools, who stressed the importance of promoting computer science education in the city and the need for ensuring that girls are equal participants of this education experience.
In the afternoon, Microsoft joined the International Women’s Day celebration with a two-day forum organized by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation, UN Women and the UN Office for Partnerships. The main theme of the forum was The Empowerment Bridge: Building a Lifetime of Opportunity for Women and Girls. One of the most encouraging discussions was the panel “Accelerating STEM and Leveraging Technology for Access and Impact,” moderated by Soledad O’Brien. We heard from Chief of Staff for the First Lady of the US, Tina Tchen; Girl Scouts CEO, Ana Maria Chavez; and Microsoft Education Vice-president for the US, Margo Day. They all talked about how women and girls can be empowered by STEM education, better health care services, and by acquiring more job and business skills.
Those who joined us at the forum also got a special screening of Big Dream, a documentary highlighting stories of seven young women in STEM fields breaking boundaries and bridging the gender gap.
We were also fortunate to hold the second day of the forum at the United Nations, where I had the opportunity to participate in a session on sustainable development goals and the role of business and philanthropy in helping drive women empowerment around the world. The Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Amina Mohammed, briefed the audience on the status of this process and how the SDGs will help drive gender equality.
Then, Amina joined a conversation with Kathy Calvin, the President and CEO of UN Foundation and Beth Keck, Senior Director for Women’s Economic Empowerment at Wal-Mart. This discussion was moderated by Jane Nelson, Director of the CSR initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School. I represented Microsoft in this panel, where we talked extensively about the role of the private sector in collaborating with government, academia, nonprofits, and other players to address the issues covered by the sustainable development goals.
I had a very insightful and inspiring couple of days in New York City. Coming to such a vibrant city allows me to see first-hand the encouraging efforts to drive impact at both the local community level and globally. Seeing the excitement of young girls around science and technology and listening to local, national, and global leaders’ ideas on women’s issues only strengthens Microsoft’s belief that STEM education and digital literacy are key enablers for driving gender equality and economic opportunity for women and young girls around the world.
To learn more about Microsoft’s commitment to youth and education, visit our YouthSpark Hub or follow us on twitter at @msftcitizenship.