If ever there was an example that to me encapsulates how one individual, empowered by knowledge and technology, can make a real difference to the lives of so many others, it’s the company founded by my friend Müjde Esin, who I first met in London just after she graduated from her MA and had set up KizCode in 2015.

KizCode is a social enterprise that seeks to empower girls and young women in ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged communities using digital education technologies and pedagogies that involve making and playing.

The project, Müjde explains, also crucially addresses the wellbeing and mental health of those girls, something which she feels is often overlooked, but is key in a addressing the issue of gender equality and access to opportunities for women in tech.

KizCode has so far received several awards: in 2016 it was recognised by the UK Home Office in England for its contribution to Social Enterprise. Müjde was awarded the 2018 the Women Social Entrepreneur of the year in Turkey and she also received Microsoft’s Women Leaders of Technology award as the most successful Woman Educator in 2017. KizCode is currently collaborating with Koc Holding and Arcelik in Turkey to empower girls in underprivileged communities.

Müjde Esin from @kizcode is one of the finalists for the ninth annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards @everywomanUK #ewTechAwards #womendotech #techshecan
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Adding to that, Müjde herself has just been nominated as one of the finalists for the ninth annual FDM everywoman in Technology Awards. The International Inspiration Award is given to an individual in recognition of their active commitment to encouraging, advancing, sponsoring or championing the progress of women working in technology. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on March 6^th.

The judges @everywomanUK Awards were united in their admiration and respect for the achievement of this year’s finalists. Congratulations to @mujdesin
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Taking place to celebrate International Women’s Day, the awards are a timely reminder that only 15% of people working in STEM roles in the UK are female and just 5% of leadership positions in the tech industry are held by women. The 2019 awards programme’s rally cry is “Achieve, Elevate and Inspire” and this year’s finalists, whilst diverse in many ways, all have something in common – they do just that.

“The judges were united in their admiration and respect for the achievement of this year’s finalists,” says Maxine Benson MBE, Co-Founder of everywoman. Without question, each of them has the ability to inspire more women and girls into a career in technology. Research by PWC shows that there could be a £180billion boost to UK GDP just by increasing female employment rates. This shows just how valuable female talent is and why this programme is so important in ensuring that more women enter the industry.

@mujdesin collaborates with companies in Turkey and the UK, as well as Turkey’s Education Minister, to deliver computer-coding workshops to girls
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“I grew up in a patriarchal and conservative society and have experienced the reality of girls being discouraged from learning and in engaging in creative practice. While I learned technology skills by myself mostly while I was at university – and with some help from friends – I realised how other girls and young women in a similar situation would benefit from being taught such skills. Technology is at the heart of future developments in society, the economy and international relations. For me it has been an amazing journey to be in Tech as I can say that what I have achieved has been directly as a result of my interest in technology and coding.”

This is what spurred her on to set up her social enterprise to address the issue of gender imbalance in the technology sector by providing training to girls and young women in underprivileged communities in Turkey and Africa.

“I collaborate with companies in Turkey and the UK, as well as Turkey’s Education Minister, to deliver computer-coding workshops to girls and young women. The workshops – which over the past three years have reached over 2000 girls – aim to give them the skills they need to gain financial independence,” she explains. “I am very proud of our workshops participants. Two girls from an underprivileged community in Turkey, after completing my KizCode workshops, were inspired to continue working on their own projects, which they won a prize for. Both are now pursuing a career in the tech industry.”

Her work focuses on diversity and girls’ education, addressing culture from an internal perspective in migrant and minority group communities, and she also provides consultancy services leveraging that expertise to companies looking to address such issues internally.

KizCode is a social enterprise that seeks to empower girls and young women in ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged communities using digital education technologies
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So what’s next for Müjde and KizCode?

“I would like to see gender balance in the technology sector and make education facilities and technologies more accessible to girls in underprivileged societies,” she tells me, adding that KizCode has managed to become a ‘bridge’ between England and Turkey. “We are going to start a new project in Istanbul in collaboration with the Mayor; the project is called ‘KizCode Digital Skills Institute’ and it aims to give high technology skills to young women and improve diversity in the tech industry.”

I know without a shadow of a doubt that Müjde has the grit and determination to achieve all this and much more in the coming years, and look forward to cheering her on as she does.

There’s some serious ROI from investing in the future generation’s digital skills, and enabling entrepreneurs that make a real difference
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The best mentorships are the ones where you become lifelong friends, and also where the mentor learns at least as much (if not more) than what she teaches. Both are true of my relationship with Müjde, and I wish her many more well deserved awards and recognition, as well as a big fat load of investment at some point that will allow her to scale like crazy. Because there’s some serious ROI – in every sense – from investing in the future generation’s digital skills, and in enabling entrepreneurs that make a real difference.

For companies looking to get into Immersive technologies our VR Consultancy service offers comprehensive support in strategic deployment of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter.

The post Tech Making the World a Better Place appeared first on Tech Trends.

New research by Microsoft offers insights into how more girls can be encouraged and supported in pursuing STEM careers.

The World Economic Forum reports that by 2020, for every digital job created, four traditional jobs will be displaced for a man – but 20 will be displaced for a woman, making it critical to keep young girls interested and staying in these career paths.

STEM is creative, challenging, and it is what future innovation is built on
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Following International Women’s Day, Microsoft unveiled the results of a survey amongst women and girls which reveals some interesting facts about why we still see such gender inequality of representation in STEM fields, and suggesting ways to tackle these problems.

Encouragement from teachers, parents, and mentors is a crucial factor in attracting and retaining female talent to STEM careers
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For example, while 72% of girls surveyed say it is important for them to have a job that directly helps the world and 91% describe themselves as creative, only 60% understand how STEM subjects are relevant for their lives and the types of jobs and things they could do with STEM knowledge. When they do learn about real-world STEM jobs and accomplishments, their perception of the creativity and positive impact of STEM double in some cases.

The World Economic Forum reports that by 2020, for every digital job created, four traditional jobs will be displaced for a man – but 20 will be displaced for a woman
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As one high-school student put it: “The word ‘engineer,’ it’s misunderstood, I think to most people it sounds like more of a masculine-based job.”

Kiki Wolfkill, Studio Head for Halo Transmedia says knowledge of technology is something that can open many opportunities for women, and it is important that they understand that STEM subjects are fundamentally creative.

“It took me longer than it should have to realize that everyone telling me that because I was creative that I wasn’t cut out for math or science was WRONG. Creativity and STEM are not mutually exclusive and in fact, so much better together. There are so many forces at work as girls are learning their way and it’s easy to get discouraged or to lose confidence. STEM is creative, challenging, and it is what innovation for the future is built on. STEM is not one thing – it is the ability to create/use/evolve technology to build a better world and it needs diverse voices and backgrounds – that has to be encouraged and nurtured.”

Yet the study identifies some of the common stumbling blocks that such women who achieved successful STEM careers had to overcome along the way:

Nearly half (49%) of women currently working in STEM say that they have faced stereotypes in the field and 57% of women in technology fields specifically say they have faced stereotypes as a woman, as Shannon Loftis, General Manager of Publishing, Xbox recalls:

“I was once accused of cheating by a professor who just could not believe I had grasped the subject matter of an advanced calculus course. There have been many setbacks, both early and late, and regardless of the cause, I’ve always found it worthwhile to work around, plow through, and keep on. I wish I had more awareness of my female predecessors prior to entering college. I feel like I stumbled into the field. I want to share what I’ve learned so women can aim at what I’ve had (and then aim higher, and higher). Early access to STEM thinking, to acquiring fluency in technology and math, opens the mind and the path to whatever comes next.”

Another finding that emerges is how the perception that STEM careers not a natural fit for women builds up over time. Only 31 percent middle school girls believe that jobs requiring coding and programming are “not for them” but by the time they get to high school that number jumps to 40%, and 58% college women count themselves out of these jobs.

The perception that STEM careers not a natural fit for women builds up over time.
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To counter this, it is important to provide girls with activities to connect their interests with STEM subjects. The hands-on experience girls get in STEM clubs and activities stokes their interest: 75% of girls who participate in STEM clubs/activities understand the types of jobs and things they could do with STEM knowledge (compared to 53% who do not participate in such activities). One 8^th grader told the study:

“I want a teacher who wants to be there and has new ideas about how to take on life, especially for us girls because we feel cornered by all the pressure to make money and take care of family and friends. My tests say I’m a good engineer and I wish I knew what that looked like in real life. I want to see women in STEM careers on posters in the hall, in our history and science texts, and visit our classes.”

Encouragement from teachers, parents, and mentors is also a crucial factor in attracting and retaining female talent to STEM careers. 65% of middle school girls who are encouraged by a parent say they’re likely to study computer science in high school, compared to 36% who haven’t been encouraged by either parent. 61% of girls who know a women in a STEM profession feel powerful when doing STEM, compared to 44% who don’t know a woman in STEM, yet only 36% of girls know a woman in a STEM profession.

“It's critical to mentor girls from classroom to the boardroom,” agrees Toni Townes-Whitley, Corporate Vice President of Industry for Microsoft. ”We need to ensure that young women with STEM backgrounds participate in interdisciplinary functions from design/build to consult/implementation processes in the tech industry and as elements of digital transformation in all other industries. The best part of working in a STEM field – for me – is the ability to envision, experience and engage in the transformation of how businesses operate, people work and live, and societal issues get addressed with technology.”

Bonnie Ross, Head of 343 Studios (which makes the Halo games) agrees that it is difficult for women to stick with pursuing a career in STEM when there isn’t a large support group of other women in class.

“It can be stressful, intimidating and lonely.  It can also be difficult to see the connection of CS or engineering degrees to what you’re passionate about. That being said, I fundamentally believe in the next 5-10 years, that regardless of job function (writing, film, marketing, etc.), some form of technical background will be needed or desired for the job candidate.  I believe candidates that have any technical experience, will get the nod over those that don’t.  I think we need to mentor young girls and women to help show them what they can achieve with technology---not what technology is, but what they can create with technology.”

Helen Chiang, General Manager of Minecraft also recalls how her parents’ support helped her stay the course:

“It’s incredibly hard to be an outlier, especially during the teenage years, and learning in a community of peers that had similar interests kept me from leaving STEM early because it wasn’t considered popular in my regular high school. Where I grew up, it wasn’t popular for girls to be smart or interested in challenging subjects within STEM. I went through a period of wondering whether I should pretend to not understand subjects or dumb myself down so that I would be liked. I have to credit my parents, who reinforced in me from an early age that it’s much more important to always be curious, always be learning, and continue to challenge yourself -- than to want to be liked. Friends and popularity come and fade, but what’s in your brain should stay with you a lifetime.”

Some of the report’s key recommendations include:

• Supporting extracurricular activities that teach girls how to create and build confidence through STEM
• Emphasizing the link between STEM and creativity
• Showing girls and young women that there are real-world, world-changing jobs in STEM and computer science.
• Ensuring teachers interact with girls as much as boys and in qualitatively similar ways
• Encouraging parents, teachers and other parental figures in a girl’s life to support and foster interest in STEM
• Showing how interest in STEM and computer science can lead to success in school and in a career.
• Providing positive role models and mentors in STEM careers

Alice Bonasio is a VR Consultant and Tech Trends’ Editor in Chief. She also regularly writes for Fast Company, Ars Technica, Quartz, Wired and others. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow @alicebonasio on Twitter

The post Infographic: The STEM Gender Gap appeared first on Tech Trends.