'Tech Girls Rock' Prepares Girls for Careers in Technology

The Boys & Girls Clubs of America will launch a 2012 $1-million initiative to prepare girls for careers in technology. A series of workshops called "Tech Girls Rock" will be funded by CA Technologies, an IT-management software company.

 

The technology field, along with science, engineering and math (STEM) has failed to attract women in the same numbers as business, law and medicine. For instance, women represent less-than-25 percent of computer programmers in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

 

The sessions will include career  exploration panels with technology professionals, including CA Technologies employees, who are donating their time to provide real-world experience.

 

"This new tech initiative equips Boys & Girls Clubs across the country with the capacity to focus tech skills development specifically for young women, ensuring a future workforce that is job ready and destined for a great future in the technology field,” Jim Clark, the club's CEO, said in a statement.

 

The first five Tech Girls Rock workshops will take place January-May 2012 in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Plano, with a goal of reaching over-1,000 young women.

 

Boys & Girls Clubs of America serves four-million youth, of which 45 percent is girls.