Cornell Tech Receives $50 Million to Expand Opportunities for Women in Tech - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

Cornell Tech Receives $50 Million to Expand Opportunities for Women in Tech - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

In an effort to boost the number of women in the tech industry, Cornell is trying to take its Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York program national.

Cornell Tech announced the expansion of the WiTNY program “to attract and retain women and other underrepresented groups pursuing tech education and careers nationally,” the January press release read. The program is also branching out, adding a new location in Chicago.

In 2016, Cornell Tech launched WiTNY in conjunction with the City University of New York in an attempt to increase the number of women — especially women of color — pursuing tech careers, according to Greg Morrisett, dean and vice provost of Cornell Tech.

“When you look at the diversity of New York, it is not really reflected in the tech industry at all,” Morrisett told The Sun. “We partnered with CUNY in part because [it] is very diverse, not just in terms of women but [in] other kinds of demographics.”

Supported by a $50 million investment from Pivotal Ventures, Cognizant U.S. Foundation and Verizon, WiTNY plans to expand outward and exert a national influence.

According to Morrisett, the goal of WiTNY was to have more women “look at tech as a possible career path,” as well as remove roadblocks that they may encounter along the way.

One barrier includes getting a foot into the industry’s door. In response, WiTNY created a three-week “Winternship” opportunity over January break. Morrisett called this program where students work on projects with a host company a “stepping stone.”

The program, now called Break Through Tech, will take part in the new Gender Equality in Tech Cities initiative. With classroom, community and workplace initiatives, Break Through Tech will branch out to three new cities, starting with Chicago in a partnership with The University of Illinois at Chicago.

“I think that Pivotal [Ventures] felt that we were very successful here in New York with the programs that we set up, and wanted to take that to other cities,” Morrisett said. “We are going to continue our efforts here with CUNY and start-up these efforts with partners in Chicago, and then we will be looking at a couple of other cities to move into after Chicago.”

Judy Spitz, program director of WiTNY, will oversee operations of groups in New York and Chicago.

Morrisett hopes the expansion will encourage “more brilliant, bright students” to apply to Cornell Tech.

“Society depends crucially upon having the right representation,” Morrisett said. “Having the right, diverse ecosystem is critical for getting the questions in those areas right. For society’s sake, if we don’t have the right kind of equity, then we are all going to suffer.”

2020-02-04 07:12:00Z
https://cornellsun.com/2020/02/04/cornell-tech-receives-50-million-to-expand-opportunities-for-women-in-tech/

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