{"id":10500,"date":"2022-11-27T06:23:44","date_gmt":"2022-11-27T06:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimatehealthreport.com\/mentoring-young-females-to-close-the-gender-gap-in-tech\/"},"modified":"2022-11-27T06:23:44","modified_gmt":"2022-11-27T06:23:44","slug":"mentoring-young-females-to-close-the-gender-gap-in-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimatehealthreport.com\/mentoring-young-females-to-close-the-gender-gap-in-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"Mentoring young females to close the gender gap in tech"},"content":{"rendered":"


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by Julia Hermann, \u00a0Machine Learning Engineer<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n

We believe in the importance of closing the gender gap in tech. Therefore, we joined a student mentoring program aimed at supporting young females studying STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) to have a career in the field. Read more to find out why supporting mentoring programs is so crucial and to learn about the participants\u2019 experience firsthand.<\/span><\/p>\n

The future of tech is female, but only if we make it so<\/span><\/h2>\n

At Runtastic, <\/span>we strive to make our workplace more <\/span>diverse, equitable, and inclusive<\/strong>, which is why we defined our own <\/span>Desired State of Inclusion<\/strong> (DSI). The DSI is an official company goal. On top of that, we set up <\/span>Inclusion Agents,<\/strong> who are colleagues that advocate for and lead DEI initiatives, so that we achieve the DSI as a team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One pillar of our DSI goal for 2022 is to <\/span>increase the number of females in the company<\/strong>. As a tech company, we face the same challenge as many: finding and hiring talented female engineers and developers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Women in Digital Scoreboard 2021<\/span>, there has not been significant progress in bringing women to ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in recent years. In 2021, only <\/span>19% of ICT specialists<\/strong> and about <\/span>one-third of STEM graduates were female<\/strong> within the <\/span>European Union<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers from Microsoft and KRC Research interviewed<\/span> 6,000 girls and women from ages 10 to 30 in the United States and found that<\/span> we need to work harder on increasing female interest and employment in STEM<\/strong> and computer science<\/strong>, especially in Technology and Engineering. They also highlight potential reasons why girls lose interest in STEM: peer pressure, lack of role models, and misperception of STEM careers. The results also suggest that <\/span>girls\u2019 confidence in coding and programming drops as they grow older<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the bright side, there are a few ways we can improve the situation right now. According to <\/span>Microsoft\u2019s latest research<\/span>, these are the most effective interventions to close the gender gap in STEM<\/span>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Provide role models: <\/strong>girls and young women need more exposure to STEM jobs, female role models, and career planning.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Generate excitement: <\/strong>girls\u2019 perception of the creativity and positive impact of STEM careers can more than double after learning about real-world STEM jobs.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Provide hands-on experience<\/strong>: girls who participate in STEM activities are 42% more likely to say they understand the career they could pursue in STEM.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Provide encouragement:<\/strong> encouragement from parents and teachers significantly impacts whether or not girls will choose and stay in a STEM field.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Encourage a growth mindset<\/strong>: hard work and exploration, such as asking questions, should be valued in schools over always knowing the right answers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Providing role models with mentorship<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Girls who know a woman working in STEM are substantially more likely to feel empowered to do STEM activities than those who don\u2019t. <\/span>Microsoft researchers<\/span> describe this as a <\/span>snowball effect: the more women are interested and working in STEM, the more they can serve as role models for the younger generation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    We at Runtastic want to contribute to closing the gender gap. That\u2019s why we joined the<\/span> Upper Austrian HTL Mentoring program<\/span>, which aims to encourage girls to pursue a career in STEM by providing perspective and support. The mentees receive coaching to build a good CV, l<\/span>earn how to prepare for an interview<\/span> and what it\u2019s like to work in the STEM field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The HTL Mentoring program <\/span>connects girls studying STEM in their final year of high school with female professionals working on real-life challenges in the field.<\/strong> During the three semesters of the program, the mentors and the mentees meet at least five times, and the mentee has the opportunity to do a <\/span>summer internship<\/strong> at the mentor\u2019s company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    The program is designed to help motivated girls achieve their professional aspirations and encourage them to choose a career path in STEM.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    What do participants of the mentoring program say?<\/span><\/h3>\n

    We asked <\/span>Lilli \u00d6lsinger<\/strong> (mentee, Electronics and Technical IT student at HTL Leonding) and <\/span>Julia Hermann<\/strong> (mentor, Machine Learning Engineer at Runtastic) about their experience with the student mentoring program.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"Julia<\/p>\n

    Q: Why did you decide to join the mentoring program?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Lilli (mentee)<\/strong>: My drive was my overall ambitious dream to work in a high position one day. Thus, I wanted to learn about more aspects of a career at a tech company.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Julia (mentor): <\/strong>When I heard about the opportunity, I immediately knew I wanted to participate as a mentor. I realized what a big difference it could have made for me to have a mentor at that age. In middle and high school, I was really good at mathematics but was not at all interested in computers or science. No one told me that I could be an Engineer and work for a tech company one day, which is why I ended up studying Finance and Economics first and then shifting to Computer Science and Engineering later. I also have a younger sister whom I supported and encouraged to pursue a career in STEM, so I thought it would be cool to do this again in a different setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Q: What was your experience with the summer internship at Runtastic like?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Lilli (mentee)<\/strong>: It was definitely different from the internship I had before Runtastic. Everybody I worked or talked with was very friendly and welcoming, always trying to help me out as best as they could whenever I needed it. Besides that, I got a lot of new impressions of the world of app designers, developers, product owners, and so on. One of the things I enjoyed most was socializing with the team: having lunch with my coworkers turned out to be the time to talk about hobbies and learning a lot of new things as well. I don\u2019t know what to say other than \u201cIt was amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \u201cA lot of new impressions of the world of app designers, developers, product owners, and so on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u2013 Lilli<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \"Lilli\"<\/p>\n

    Julia (mentor): <\/strong>\u00a0I felt proud of how much she has learned in only one month: she skilled up in a new programming language and contributed to an API for our Maps Library that can be used in both our Running & Training apps. The internship project was led by Paul Weichhart within the Community Interaction Squad, so a big thanks to him for the technical guidance, support, and warm welcome for Lilli.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Q: In what ways do you think you benefited from mentoring?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Lilli (mentee): <\/strong>Overall, I already noticed an improvement in my stance while talking to people, which results in me not seeming closed up, impatient, or annoyed.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Julia (mentor): <\/strong>The ambitions and curiosity of my mentee inspired me. I learned to be a better listener and to convey my knowledge in simple and understandable terms. I also felt a sense of purpose and gratitude for being able to contribute to closing the gender gap in tech, even if this was just a small step in the right direction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    \u201cI felt a sense of purpose and gratitude for being able to contribute to closing the gender gap in tech.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u2013 Julia<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    \"Julia\"