It’s no secret that women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. Only 25% of STEM jobs in the United States are held by women. What’s more, the need for cybersecurity professionals is on the rise – data breaches are more common, and more costly, then ever before – yet there were one million unfilled cybersecurity positions worldwide in 2014. This presents a two-pronged issue: a gender gap and a skills gap. One of Symantec’s core philanthropic areas is STEM education, with the cybersecurity issue particularly close to home.
Symantec’s newest grant partner is the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a nonprofit founded in 1881 that advocates for women’s empowerment through education, research, and policy. Their National Tech Trek Program is a weeklong STEM summer camp that will impact more than 1,600 middle school girls this year. AAUW received a $100,000 grant from Symantec to expand the curriculum to include a core class in cybersecurity. The class will be piloted this year in 3 camp locations: Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Stanford University, and the University of California, Irvine.
Read the AAUW’s post on the 3 reasons they want to introduce girls to cybersecurity.
The Tech Trek Program, offered in 21 sites across the United States, uses hands-on strategies to introduce the girls to opportunities in STEM. While spending a week on a college campus, the students get to participate in practical workshops learning everything from building rockets to basic coding. They get to meet female professionals in STEM careers to hear and connect with real life experiences. And now, with Symantec’s donation, they will get to learn about the exciting career opportunities in cybersecurity.
“Providing STEM and literacy education to young adults, particularly women and minorities, is a business imperative at Symantec in order to build a diversified and innovative workforce for the future,” said Cecily Joseph, vice president of corporate responsibility at Symantec. “We seek to help bridge the skills gap, looking at how to create a pipeline of STEM-trained and educated future leaders ready to address and help solve problems related to cybersecurity. This grant will help build the pipeline of qualified girls to enter the in-demand field of cybersecurity.”
Contributing to cybersecurity education for underrepresented groups is not new for Symantec. Last year Symantec launched the Cyber Career Connection (SC3), a unique one-year program that trains and certifies young adults in cybersecurity. The first class of SC3 students has just started their internships this February. You can learn more about SC3 and Symantec’s commitment to Your Information here.