Mentors, Sponsorship, and Faculty Buy-In

Part of the responsibility of the Chapter Coordinator is to form partnerships with women in high tech careers. Research supports the notion that girls and young women need to have mentors and role models. The primary focus of the Wakefield IGNITE chapter is to provide members’ access to women in nontraditional high tech careers.

Another responsibility is obtaining sponsorship for events. This is an activity that is becoming familiar to those individuals in education. Schools are challenged with high budget cuts, resulting in the loss of opportunities for our students. Business partnerships and sponsorships are available and usually easy to secure by asking. The challenge is know how to ask for what.

Faculty Buy-In provides additional support and encouragement. Accomplishing the buy-in requires a collaborative spirit, working together to accomplish our mission. A challenge to accomplishing this task is a lack of understanding what the chapter is attempting to accomplish. Therefore, sharing the news of upcoming events at a faculty meeting suggests that the whole faculty is involved with getting girls interested and enrolled in STEM or high tech courses. Talking with science or math teachers about their part in helping to changing the stereotypes facing girls today. The attitudes and behaviors of those around us impact our decisions and actions. A faculty that is aware of this is well equipped to start to make the changes needed for closing the gender gap in nontraditional high tech careers.