How girls are preparing for the tech revolution

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Childhood doesn’t seem like much of your childhood these days. Video games can transport you to a whole different place through VR. Ordering pizza means opening an app, not talking to a human, and hanging out with friends can happen via FaceTime.

Screen time restrictions aside, we’re living more lives online than ever before—and this shift is opening up a whole new world of opportunities for today’s kids.

A new high-tech world is upon us.

According to the report Brookfield Institute for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipA research initiative based at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson), our reliance on technology will redefine work—along with other aspects of everyday life—in the next 10 to 15 years.

Virtual and augmented reality will transform everyday experiences: from entertainment to on-the-job training. AI and automation will allow more workers to be removed from routine tasks and make work more meaningful. Blockchain technology will change the nature of financial transactions from banking to real estate. 3D printing will disrupt supply chains and change how we produce and consume goods, etc.

Indeed, while the world may look different than it did 20 years ago, these and other developments will continue to disrupt life as we know it. As a result, preparing children for the future also looks very different than it did in the past.

Future Success means encouraging girls to pursue STEM.

Technological innovations are creating seismic shifts throughout society—and the work landscape is especially poised to see a real shakeup.

According to Brookfield, more than one in seven Canadians currently work in a field that is expected to decline in the coming years. Meanwhile, only 19 per cent of Canadians are working in occupations that are projected to grow – and women are less likely than men to be employed in these high-potential occupations.

A Statistics Canada An analysis of women’s representation in STEM programs reveals even more troubling data: in 2016, women made up only 34 percent of STEM undergraduates and 23 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 were science and technology workers.

Bucking these trends starts with inspiring girls to dream about how they can use STEM skills to lead the way to an exciting new future. After engaging more than two million girls worldwide, MasterCard To do this, it expanded its signature STEM education program—Girls4Tech™—across Canada.

The future of technology is female

Offering a range of free resources for girls aged eight to 16, Mastercard Girls 4 Tech It is a hands-on program designed to awaken girls’ logical and analytical powers and inspire them to change the world through math, science and technology.

This begins with hands-on exercises that show how technology concepts such as algorithms, cyber security, data privacy and cryptology can be applied to the girls’ everyday lives.

In one module, for example, participants are asked to think about the personal information they want to protect online. Through a series of fun games and exercises, you’ll learn the principles that MasterCard cryptologists use to protect sensitive financial information.

Sascha Krstic, president of Mastercard Canada, said: “Many of the jobs for future generations will require a STEM background, but there continues to be a low proportion of women graduating as adults and pursuing these fields.” “Equal opportunities for girls to remove barriers and allow them to pursue and thrive in STEM careers will contribute to a diverse and equitable workforce of the future.”

For Eva, a Girls4Tech student and former intern at MasterCard, the program played a key role in choosing her career path.

“The Girls4Tech experience was instrumental in my decision to pursue Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics when I was in Grade 11,” she says. “I’m currently in an honors computer science program while at university. I’m really enjoying what I do and I’m excited for all the opportunities that lie ahead.

Exposure to and encouragement of STEM careers can have life-changing implications, many of which do not yet exist. Eva affirms, “Girls4Tech made me see what’s possible.”

Learn more about MasterCard Girls 4 Tech.



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