In honor of International Women’s Day, HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE: HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today announced a partnership with the 1,000 Dreams Fund, a national scholarship program for American girls aspiring to live their dreams. Together, the partners have launched an online campaign challenge called the “#NewFaceofTech,” seeking to spotlight and financially support the new face of tech to support promising young women pursuing big dreams in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Careers in tech are among the fastest-growing professional occupations in the U.S., with a projected growth rate of more than 9 million jobs between 2012 and 2020, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet women remain underrepresented in this sector. In fact, according to a Reuters study, more than a quarter of technology executives stated they have no women in leadership positions at their organizations.
Starting today, young female STEM leaders are invited to show how they are the #NewFaceofTech by snapping a photo and sharing what they hope to achieve in STEM. HARMAN and 1,000 Dreams Fund will provide two high potential women with financial grants to pursue their goals. The two winners and an additional eight finalists also will receive premium JBL headphones.
“At HARMAN, our best innovations are a direct result of the range of ideas that come from our diverse workforce,” said Christi Downes, Vice President, Global Talent Management, Diversity and Corporate HR, HARMAN. “We’re excited for the opportunity to help young women reach their dreams and we’re grateful to 1,000 Dreams Fund for helping us connect with the next generation of female leaders in STEM.””
“In addition to HARMAN’s proven track record in the competitive technology industry, they have an impressive number of female executives,” said Christie Garton, founder and CEO of 1,000 Dreams Fund. “Our mission at the 1,000 Dreams Fund is to provide young women with access and opportunity to any goal or dream they have. Technology, specifically, continues to be an industry where women leaders are shockingly absent. By joining forces with HARMAN, we hope to encourage any young woman interested in technology to pursue her big dreams to the fullest.”
The #NewFaceofTech Challenge launched today with the photo submission period running through April 4, 2017. Ten finalists will be chosen by 1,000 Dream Fund and announced on April 5, kicking off a week-long public vote. The two, top vote-receiving finalists will be selected as our winners and announced by April 13, 2017.
View press release in full here
