Every year women around the world are celebrated on International Women’s Day, honoring the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The theme for this year is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. BOCA is proud to work with brilliant women in the tech sector every day. We see firsthand how valuable women’s contributions are, specifically in the technology world.
There is a large gender gap in technology and it starts at a young age for women with barriers to education and continues into future career opportunities. Women make up just 28% of the STEM workforce. At the current rate, it will take 132 years to close the economic gender gap — we must do more and we must act fast. It is the responsibility of both individuals and corporations to do their part acknowledging this and working to make a change.
At the current rate, it will take 132 years to close the economic gender gap.
This year, Google created a project that takes a deep dive into the contributions of women in society and culture, art, STEM, specifically looking at women who have been overlooked or left out of the common retellings of history. The multimedia project offers up a ton of great resources to learn more about these women, including black, queer and transgender women.
To show solidarity with women all over the world, people are being asked to share images of them hugging themselves on social media and using the hashtag #EmbraceEquity. This is a way of pledging to embrace equity and “encourage others to help forge an inclusive world,” according to the International Women’s Day website.
BOCA supports women today and every day. Our fearless leader, Kathleen Shanahan, is a true testament to the capabilities of strong women. Happy International Women’s Day to all of the women out there — we appreciate you, we value you, and we can’t wait to see what you put forth into the world!