AVIXA Women’s Council has teamed up with non-profit organization Rosie Riveter to give back to the community all while supporting confidence and competence in STEM. This partnership will help provide the tools, resources, and pathways for young women to get not only be interested in STEM but to see a future in the world of professional AV.
Origins of Rosie Riveters
Prior to starting Rosie Riveters, founder Brittany Greer worked in communications in the nuclear energy sector. She was tasked with figuring out how to bring more women into the energy field. Through her research, Greer became deeply immersed in the STEM pipeline which shows the path girls do and do not take in finding and retaining jobs in STEM. She noticed the first big drop-off point for young girls was in middle school. Although middle and high schools offer STEM programs, there was always room for improvement, so Greer set out to solve said problem.
“We set out to effectively build out a hands-on STEM program that not only excited girls about the breadth of STEM opportunities but really to build confidence in their critical thinking and problem-solving skills,” Greer said.
Greer started her first cohort with 42 girls at her local library on Saturdays as well as emailed the schools mentioning the program. As of today, the program has served over 6,000 girls between the ages of 4 and 14.
How the Partnership Came to Be
As a group, the AVIXA Women’s Council was always wondering what they could do in the industry to uphold the organization’s mission of empowering women. Erica Carroll, AWC Leader for Atlanta, wanted to do something that would be impactful for her area. She heard of Rosie Riveters from former council members and knew she wanted to get involved. The team reached out to Greer and began planning out how they can help with the organization. Carroll believed this partnership would be beneficial for both of them.
“We’re solving a couple of problems. There’s really only less than 17% representation of females in our industry. 10% of those are under the age of 40 so there are a couple of problems here. Number one we are underrepresented and number two we don’t have young people coming into the industry who are backfilling our positions as we get older. So, this seemed like a perfect partnership,” Carroll said.
How to Help and Get Involved
As part of their mission to give back to the community and support Rosie Riveters, AWC is holding a fundraiser to help build binary coding kits for a local school. To date, the fundraiser has exceeded its goal thanks to the title sponsorship from Advisist however, people can still donate to the cause.
There are a few ways to give back and show support. One way is spreading the word out on social media using the hashtags #closethegap, #futureofav, and #supportingawc. Individual donations are also being accepted through GoFundMe. Sponsorships are also available for businesses who want to donate as well.
For more information on AWC, Rosie Riveters, and how to get involved, check out their website here.
