3,000 Minds to Inspire

This story was originally posted on Cisco Employee Connection, Cisco’s internal employee news site.

We are about to show more than 3,000 girls and young women around the world that they can be the next generation of scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technologists—the dreamers and doers who will invent the future.

In April and May, in more than 80 Cisco offices in more than 50 countries, female students from local schools, Cisco Networking Academy classes, and non-profit organizations will spend a day with us, learning about technology.

It’s all part of this year’s Girls Power Tech event, when we open our doors to girls ages 13 to 18 for a day of site tours, presentations and mentoring. The girls will learn about the Internet of Everything and talk with us about careers in technology. They will imagine themselves in technical jobs—and experience the kind of technology they can help invent.

The activities are in celebration of International Girls in ICT Day, held on April 23. We are a top corporate supporter of this global effort to empower and encourage girls and young women to pursue careers in information and communications (ICT) technology.

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Why are we so involved? Diversity and inclusion are part of our values. We know that the more diverse our workforce, the more diverse the ideas and viewpoints—which leads to more creativity and innovation. And predictions point to a huge shortfall of people with technical skills in the future. Women comprise only 27 percent of workers in technical fields in some of the world’s emerging economies. Women represent a huge underutilized resource of creativity and talent. That means we need to build the talent pipeline now. Our future depends on it.

Cisco employees around the world are signing up to volunteer for a day of mentoring. They are excited about the opportunity to ignite the imaginations of the next generation of innovators who will dream of possibilities and make them a reality.

Join Cisco CSR on Facebook and Twitter to see updates on Girls Power Tech activities.