December 11th 2017 
Million Women Mentors®’ Entrepreneurship Initiative Mentoring Program, Sponsored by Wells Fargo
MWM- EI WBE Criteria
- STEM growth: Tech and Engineering
- Revenue:  $3-$20 Million Annually
- Size: 25 or more employees
- Location: US-Based
- Past Success in STEM-related industry
- Years in Business: 5 years or more
- Three-to-Five Year Business Plan
- Forecasted Financial Statements for 2017-2019

As part of the MWM-EI program Million Women Mentors will match 5-10 WBEs to a respective larger company to act as their mentor for a year to assist the mentee company in ways to achieve growth.
Application Deadline: 5:00 pm EST, Friday, December 15th, 2017
Download the Application for the Program  Here .

Mentors Needed!
Our valued MWM partner, Mentored Pathways, is looking for additional mentors to help serve a number of students across the United States. Utilizing a vast network of middle and high school educators, Mentored Pathways provides the opportunity for mentors to match with students focused on specific projects to help boost their understanding and desire for the STEM path. You may find more information by going to their website - MentoredPathways.org
Indiana State and Bev Bitzegaio Honored for STEM Leadership
The Indiana Conference for Women is dedicated to the educational and professional development of women in Indiana and the Midwest.  Million Women Mentors – Indiana participated in the annual Indiana Conference for women on November 7th, in part to honor significant contributions to STEM education for women and girls. Sponsored by Ivy Tech Community College and Rolls-Royce, MWM-IN presented the Indiana MWM Stand Up for STEM Award to recognize and celebrate the work of companies, individuals and organizations in Indiana that have contributed significantly to advancing women and girls in STEM careers through MWM and mentoring.

DUB AI: Rise Up the Ladder and Give Back to Society
Assia Riccio, founder of Evolvin' Women, harbours a passion to empower women to achieve their maximum career potential, including those who do not have the access or means to open avenues for professional advancement.

Assia is the former learning and development manager at Jumeirah Restaurant Group in Dubai, a division with a portfolio of 42 restaurants, where she developed the L&D strategy for over 1,000 employees.

The idea of Evolvin' Women struck Assia when she won the Olive Barnett Award in 2011. The international honour is annually awarded to an outstanding person under 30 in any sector of the hospitality, leisure or travel industry in the UK. "That was a life-changing moment for me - it opened so many doors and I met people I had never thought I would meet," Assia recalls.

NIGERIA: Timipre Wolo: How I Started First Nigerian Restaurant in Aberdeen, Scotland
Young, cerebral, and undeterred; a dreamer and an achiever. She is more than that: she has facilitated international scholarships, SME loans and training to help about 400 young Nigerians dream and achieve their goals. Meet Timipre Wolo. An optimist and motivator, she awards scholarships and mentors girls at the Internally Displaced Persons’ camps through her Centre for Gender Equality, Education and Empowerment (CGEEE) and her company, TFN Energy Limited, an oil and gas firm. With a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a master’s degree in Oil and Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, the silent achiever and innovator shares her enthralling success story with Adedayo Adejobi 

MUMBAI: “Swept Mcdonald’s Floors in 1980s & Look at Me Now”- Smriti Irani
Curated by journalist Barkha Dutt, We The Women, a women’s summit, kicked off at Mehboob Studios, Mumbai on Saturday, 9 December. The event aims to give women space for “unfettered expression, great conversation, mentoring, networking and a sense of community.”
At this two-day-participatory forum, an array of influential and artic ulate personalities like Smriti Irani, Ekta Kapoor, Faye D’Souza, Sakshi Malik, Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, among others, will grapple with issues like sexism, equality and sexual harassment with intense discussions.
Ekta Kapoor and Smriti Irani opened up about the evolution of the character Tulsi from the series,  Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,  and the travails of being high-achieving women.
“Stop Treating Women as a Dress Code,” says Smriti Irani

RWANDA: Rwanda Invests in STEM Education for Girls
Yvonne Kevia is an 18-year-old high school student in Rwanda. She wants to become a chemical engineer. She enjoys doing experiments and taking careful notes in her high school laboratory in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city.
Kevia’s interest in science is important to her. But it is also part of a larger goal for the Rwandan government: to prepare more girls for science and technology related careers.
The hope is to also create a model for other African governments to follow.

CFW accepting nominations for Rosemary Schraer Mentoring, Achieving Women awards
Each year, the Commission for Women (CFW) recognizes an exceptional mentor in the University community and celebrates women who have shown remarkable professionalism and leadership at Penn State. Nominations are currently being sought for two awards: the Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award and the Achieving Women Award.
The Rosemary Schraer Mentoring Award is presented each spring to a University employee, regardless of gender, who exemplifies Schraer's giving of herself as a mentor and who has voluntarily, over a period of time, helped others recognize and achieve their potential. Consideration is given to employees (administrators, faculty, technical service, or staff members) who have a record of outstanding mentoring service that goes beyond the requirements of their employment duties and responsibilities.

To submit nominations, visit  equity.psu.edu/cfw/awards. Submissions are due no later than Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018.

Valley Voice: Giving Valley Young Women a Boost Toward STEM Careers
Shelley Mitchell - When I moved to the Coachella Valley last year one of my first tasks was to find interesting friends. As a member of AAUW (American Association of University Women) since 1986, I knew that I would not have to look far if I connected with the Palm Springs AAUW Branch, an organization that has been in existence in the valley for 60 years.
AAUW members are interesting, fun and smart, and we already had much in common, including our desire to improve the community by advocating for education, equity and empowerment for women and girls. 

Code First Girls Aims to Teach 20,000 Girls to Code by 2020
Code First Girls has launched a campaign with the aim of teaching coding to 20,000 young women by 2020.
The social enterprise has partnered with organizations KKR and OVH to provide employers with training support to teach the young women in their organizations to code, as well as provide free coding courses to women through other charitable institutions.


Book Review - Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Vera Rubin is one of the fifty extraordinary women whom artist and author  Rachel Ignotofsky  celebrates in  Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World  ( public library ) — an illustrated homage to some of the most influential and inspiring women in STEM since long before we acronymized the conquest of curiosity through discovery and invention, ranging from the ancient astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher Hypatia in the fourth century to Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, born in 1977.
New York Times best selling book, Women in Science highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world. 

STEM-UP Network Seeks to Recruit, Retain, and Advance Women in STEM
By 2018, 71 percent of jobs in the marketplace will require some mix of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills.
Yet, even though women make up about 50 percent of the national workforce, they are drastically underrepresented in the STEM fields, e specially in the computer science and engineering sectors.
This high demand and short supply of skills are further aggravated by the fact that more than 50 percent of women who enter STEM careers abandon their professions within 12 years, versus 20 percent who leave non-STEM careers.
The STEM-UP Network, a social enterprise powered by Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, provides women in STEM with real-world strategies, relationships, and a strong community that support their ability to flourish, prosper and advance both personally and in their careers.

L'Oreal Paris Women of Worth Event Celebrates 10 Passionate Women Creating Positive Change in their Communities; Shandra Woworuntu Named 2017 National Honoree and Gretc
L'Oreal Paris honored 10 inspiring women who selflessly commit their lives to serving their communities and fostering positive change at the 12th annual Women of Worth celebration. Inspired by the L'Oreal Paris belief that "We're all worth it," the annual Women of Worth celebration honors the intrinsic beauty of everyday women making an extraordinary difference. This year's Honorees represent a wide range of causes, from supporting survivors of human sex trafficking to raising awareness about mass incarceration.
Each Honoree received a $10,000 grant for her organization and Shandra Woworuntu, founder of Mentari which provides assistance to victims of human trafficking through DREAM, which stands for Direct services, Resources, Education, Advocacy and Mentorship, was named as the 2017 National Honoree and was awarded a total of $35,000 to support her cause.

Sowing the Seeds of Diversity in Engineering
Only 14 percent of all engineers in the U.S. today are women, and the gender imbalance continues, or even worsens, when women enter the workforce.
Increasing the number of women in engineering is a problem without clear boundary conditions. Although we know that no single solution can help address the challenges women face in navigating their studies and careers, the understanding we’ve gained in recent years can point the way to seeing real change.
Right now, the bar is low. Despite ongoing efforts across academia, government and industry to increase participation, only 14 percent of all engineers and 25 percent of all IT professionals in the United States today are women. This gender imbalance continues, or often worsens, when women complete their education and enter the workforce. A 2011 survey of 5,500 women with engineering degrees in the United States found that 40 percent did not pursue an engineering career after graduation.

More from the Women of Biopharma — Full Measures of Progress
What were the wins and losses for women in the industry during the past year, and what is their outlook for the coming year? We wanted a real-time assessment from the people most affected by those questions — women executives. The advocacy group, Women In Bio, backed by LifeSci Advisors, helped us recruit leading women in biopharma companies and organizations to share their views of women’s current state of progress and the prospects for short-term change in the industry.

STEM-ing the Gender Gap in GE Aviation
here was a time early in Kristie West’s career in GE Aviation’s supply chain operations, when she was the only woman in a room full of colleagues. Now, the Director of operations for Unison Industries/GE Aviation, those days are behind her, but she notes there is still plenty of room for more women at the conference room table.
Speaking this fall at a Women in Aviation conference in Dayton, Ohio, Kristie presented with other aviation leaders on how to attract and retain more women in aviation as well as in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

aFit Certified as Women’s Business Enterprise
AFIT STAFFING, INC. (aFit) a privately owned business specializing in information technology and medical was recently awarded the certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) by the State of Indiana. To qualify for the certification, the WBE must be at least 51% owned by qualifying women who possess expertise in the field, control the business enterprise, and are US Citizens.
As a WBE certified by the Indiana Department of Administration, the business entity is considered for subcontracting opportunities on state contracts in Indiana, which provide for the attainment of business diversity goals. aFit will receive notification of state business opportunities and access to training opportunities.

Women in Construction Operations Launches Northern California Chapter
Following success in Southern California,  Women in Construction Operations (WiOPS) has announced an expansion into in the north. The Northern California chapter will launch at an informational outreach event at San Francisco’s  Dome Construction on January 17, 2018, nearly five years after Southern California’s inaugural meeting. WiOPS, a professional organization with nearly 600 members, provides a forum to mentor and further the advancement of women in the building industry.

The First Women in Tech Didn’t Leave—Men Pushed Them Out
In computing’s early years, when it was consi dered women’s work, all six programmers of America’s first digital computer, Eniac, were women.
Sexism in the tech industry is as old as the tech industry itself.
Memos from the U.K.’s government archives reveal that, in 1959, an unnamed British female computer programmer was given an assignment to train two men. The memos said the woman had “a good brain and a special flair” for working with computers. Nevertheless, a year later the men became her managers. Since she was a different class of government worker, she had no chance of ever rising to their pay grade.

Portland Women in Tech Documentary Debuts Photo Exhibit
The women in technology documentary series  “Chasing Grace”debuted a photo exhibit at  Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., this week.
The exhibit was introduced as part of CloudNow Women in Cloud Awards on Dec. 5. CloudNow is a nonprofit organization that provides networking, mentoring and career growth for women in cloud computing.
The photo exhibit features six Portland women. Their portraits were shot by Portland photographer  Edina Clagett of Be-you-tiful Portraits as part of their participation in the “Chasing Grace” project. The film series  is a six-part documentary by Portland studio Wicked Flicks Productions.

In a recent Gallup study, only 11 percent of corporate executives perceived that college graduates had the skills they were looking for. How can we better prepare the next generation for the jobs of tomorrow? 
In her new book, Teach to Work: How a Mentor, a Mentee and a Project Can Close the Skills Gap in America (Taylor and Francis: March 28, 2017) mentoring expert Patty empowers professionals – whether they are bankers, lawyers, architects, accountants, engineers, IT specialists or artists – to bring their real-world experience and her project based mentoring model into the classroom. 
Compelling and insightful, the book reveals how professionals can embark on a journey to transform lives, mentoring one student at a time. 
“You have made a difference in the lives of these kids, and most likely you have made a difference in the lives of their kids as well. They have grabbed hold of your light, because they feel your encouragement and kindness, and maybe because they had no other. Thank you for your important leadership in this role.” 
— Chris Gardener, Author of The Pursuit of Happyness, 2010 NFTE Dare to Dream speech 
For more information visit  www.teachtowork.com
 
Women’s Quick Facts brings to life insightful data on the impact of women that everyone should know. From purchasing power, to how efficient women owned companies are with respect to capital compared to men, this book takes the pulse on women in today’s modern economy. Not only does each page compile a broad spectrum of the most current data, it also brings the numbers to life in bite size, easy to read content.

Million Women Mentors | STEMconnector | 202-304-1964 | [email protected] | www.MillionWomenMentors.org
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