Summer 2018 Ideagen "Catalyze" Magazine 1 | Page 36

Ideagen Intersection

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Ideagen Intersection

see in young girls initially through to college? How do we nurture analytical thinking, problem solving, computational thinking, skills that are required in STEM throughout grade school, high school and beyond?

You get into third grade, sixth grade, eighth grade and even a sophomore in high school, and you start to see drop offs of these girls in the area of STEM. One of the areas that we’re heavily focused on at Microsoft is bridging that drop off. We've invested about 75 million in an initiative called YouthSpark, a global initiative to increase access for all youth to learn computer science, empowering them to achieve more for themselves, their families and their communities.

Under the Youth Spark umbrella, I’m personally involved in a couple of programs. The first is DigiGirlz, which gives high school girls an opportunity to learn about what a career in STEM looks like so they are aware of the possibilities. The second program is Girls Who Code. This is really about encouraging a curiosity for coding and exposing the girls to skills that I just talked about to help them envision a future for themselves in STEM. Both programs aim to bridge those exit ramps in the early years to prepare girls for higher education in fields of computer science, engineering and math sciences.

Leif:

That is some incredible work that you and Microsoft are doing. I would imagine that you believe, and Microsoft as well, in these initiatives. Do you believe that these are some of the greatest areas of impact to focus on, so you can empower these girls at a very young age to pursue the careers that they so choose?

Gretchen:

Oftentimes we focus on how do we help women break through the glass ceiling and that is important work but we also have to reach women earlier and start to build the skills to empower girls to become our future leaders. That's one of the things that I'm working with other companies and other C-level executives in my role at Microsoft to bring together both programs and awareness to go after that opportunity together. Our ultimate goal is to give girls and young women the confidence they need to be successful in the work place as they graduate out of higher education.

Leif:

Yes, I agree that having that confidence is crucial for allowing them to really be who they want to be. You had touched a little bit on it as far as the collaboration with various organizations. Why do you think cross-sector collaboration is vital to helping solve a lot of these issues on empowering women?

Gretchen:

Many companies recognize that a gender gap exists and they also recognize the opportunity that greater diversity brings. I believe that most modern companies have individual missions to support women in the workforce , however, the opportunity to partner and collaborate across organizations allows us to make a bigger impact. It allows us to reach and connect in a broader way that could affect change more quickly across the U.S. and beyond to drive systemic change around the gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Leif:

Within the cross-sector of collaboration, a lot of corporations are moving towards that, because they realize there is more power in working together to tackle this issue. With your daily missions, what are some of the key lessons that help you to create that collaboration, have that environment, so you really can change the world?

Gretchen:

I ask myself a few important questions when I’m working on day-to-day projects that help keep these issues top of mind for me:

1. Is there a diversity aspect to this program and, if not, should there be?

2. Are there other organizations that are doing similar work that I should be collaborating with?

3. What best practices can I either share or leverage from the broader community?

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Interview with Gretchen O'Hara, cont.