Strengthening its commitment to promote gender inclusion in the field of technology, Microsoft Philippines held Digigirlz: Assemble, an event that opened young women to opportunities to learn more about careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
The event, which was held recently at the Asia Pacific College in Makati, gathered over 150 young learners, together with their educators, for a series of interactive learning activities, as well as talks from prominent women in STEM. The speakers who participated included Sophia Lucero, co-founder of Philippine Web Designers Association; Gladis Morales, founder of internship to employment web platform Zestaly; Mench Dizon, co-founder of online home manager AskGina; Pam Damarillo, founder of DevCon Kids; Abigail Jao, Central Marketing Organization Lead at Microsoft Philippines; and Ireen Catane, Enterprise Commercial Lead at Microsoft Philippines.
Grounded on the value of gender equality, Digigirlz’ overarching theme was to continuously harness the immense potential of women to bring positive impact to the technology space. “We see the growth of women professionals in the tech industry and we, at Microsoft, are supportive of sustaining this development to empower more women to take part in groundbreaking tech projects brought about by their expertise in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields,” Catane, said. “Through initiatives like Digigirlz, we aim to bridge the gender gap in the industry through education, awareness, and innovation.”
The Digigirlz initiative is also being rolled out globally in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, and South Korea. It is part of Microsoft’s #MakeWhatsNext campaign, the technology giant’s global, unifying platform that empowers women and girls in STEM to achieve more.