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“Even More Girls—In Tech” by JetBlue aims to boost number of women involved in the aviation industry
JetBlue is continuing its mission of Inspiring Humanity. The airline recently partnered with the nonprofit Girls in Tech to host a special event designed to encourage young girls to be brave, dream big, and build.
Girls in Tech is a global organisation focused on the engagement, education, and empowerment of girls and women who are passionate about technology.
During the “Even More Girls—In Tech” event in California, nearly 50 girls, ages 12-15 learned leadership skills directly from the airline’s senior leaders and Girls in Tech CEO and Founder, Adriana Gascoigne.
They also received an introduction to technical skills such as coding that are critical to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
The day kicked off with a Power Breakfast panel featuring Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay, Director of Disney’s upcoming epic adventure, “A Wrinkle in Time;” Bonny Simi, President, JetBlue Technology Ventures; and Ursula Hurley, Vice President, Structural Programmes, JetBlue and board member for The JetBlue Foundation.
This event launches the airline’s “Even More Girls” career awareness programming which brings girls and women together to showcase the range of careers available within the airline.
Programming will raise awareness encourage girls and women to pursue a variety of career options including finance, IT and marketing, among others.
“Empowering women to become entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley or to pursue tech careers within JetBlue starts by encouraging an interest in STEM as early as possible. Fuelling the pipeline today through educational initiatives and grants to STEM programmes will help to ensure even more women are present in the hangars and board rooms of the future and at the helm of the next wave of tech start-ups,” said Bonny Simi, President, JetBlue Technology Ventures.
“It takes a village to support more girls and women entering the STEM field. JetBlue has shown their commitment to levelling the playing field not only for girls and women, but also, people from marginalised regions for a long time and we’re thrilled to be partners in that mission,” said Adriana Gascoigne, CEO and founder, Girls In Tech.
The airline company supports STEM spanning the full spectrum of the talent pipeline from early education to careers in technology fields and entrepreneurship.
The JetBlue Foundation was founded in 2013 and focuses on providing access to STEM programmes to communities traditionally under-represented in STEM fields including women and minority groups. Beyond grants, the foundation also provides mentoring, internships and more to make a difference for the next generation of aviators.
Overall, the airline is focused on ensuring diverse, fresh perspectives to influence all aspects of the company, particularly the technology fields that fuel the airline. This collaborative effort, JetBlue Equals, is the umbrella platform for the airline’s initiatives related to diversity and inclusion.
In Silicon Valley, the company’s commitment to diversity is ingrained in their approach encouraging entrepreneurship. JetBlue Technology Ventures incubates, invests in and partners with early-stage startups at the intersection of travel and technology.
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