Local companies
Tupperware and Electronic Arts start programs to expose more girls to careers in a STEM field.
As corporations push to add women in tech fields — with high-profile backers including Lockheed Martin and Electronic Arts — some leaders say they are seeing results in Central Florida.
Organizers behind the programs, which feature female employees leading activities designed to reach female workers and students directly, say they can serve two purposes: show female students potential career paths and help businesses foster future workers.
“They have an interest in making sure there is a workforce coming out of the schools,” said Heather Norton, vice president of education at the Orlando Science Center. “And we want to show our learners that there are viable opportunities in their own backyard.”
The efforts paying off.
Harris Corporation officials appear to be say they have seen the percentage of women in their workforce rise from 19 to 32 percent in the last five years.
The University of Central Florida’s video game school, meanwhile, also has seen an increase in women’s enrollment.
The latest approach in Orlando is being led by Tupperware, which will host 30 girls from the Kissimmee Boys & Girls Club today to learn the basics of coding today at the Science Center. It will be the second of back-to-back weekends for the class.
“Every time a girl is educated in STEM, it means a greater opportunity for her economically and professionally,” said Yolanda Londono, vice president of social responsibility at Tupperware Brands. “It makes sense for us. STEM professions have usually been populated by boys and men.”
Karen Rush has bucked that trend. She is senior development director for EA’s John Madden football series and helps lead a team for one of the industry’s most
She said the company looks for partnerships in Central Florida to create ways to increase the number of women in the industry.
“It starts with recruitment,” she said. “One of the things we are looking at is, how do we reach more women?”
EA recently attracted more than 250 high school students, college students and parents to UCF’s downtown video game school to learn about the gaming industry and the role women play in it.
Locally, women’s interest in game development has been on the rise.
UCF’s video game school, Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy, has seen its population of female students climb recently. Initially, around 8 percent of the students at FIEA were women. However, that has tripled and FIEA Executive Director Ben Noel says that the number has iconic franchises.