Cornell Tech, The City University of New York (CUNY), and founding partner Verizon Communications have announced a new tech education initiative targeting young women in the undergraduate and graduate school pipeline that aims to increase the number of women working in technology.
While the number of women attending college increases, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the percentage of women who graduate with degrees in technology-related disciplines is less than 1%. In fact, as the tech job market booms, the percentage of computer science degrees awarded to women has declined by 19% over the past 30 years.
The new Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in NY (WiTNY) initiative will provide the access, incentives, and support needed for girls and women to succeed in the tech industry. With Verizon as the founding partner, a growing list of companies are supporting the initiative including charter member Accenture as well as the Citi Foundation, IBM, Xerox, JPMorgan Chase, AppNexus and Grand Central Tech.
ABOUT CORNELL TECH
Cornell Tech develops pioneering leaders and technologies for the digital age. Cornell Tech brings together faculty, business leaders, tech entrepreneurs, and students in a catalytic environment to produce visionary results grounded in significant needs that will reinvent the way we live in the digital age.
Cornell Tech’s temporary campus has been up and running at Google’s Chelsea building since 2012, with a growing world-class faculty, and about 150 master’s and Ph.D. students who collaborate extensively with tech-oriented companies and organizations and pursue their own start-ups. Construction is underway on Cornell Tech’s campus on Roosevelt Island, with a first phase due to open in 2017. When fully completed, the campus will include 2 million square feet of state-of-the-art buildings, over 2 acres of open space, and will be home to more than 2,000 graduate students and hundreds of faculty and staff.
