On Thursday Tundra Technical, a Toronto-based global technology and engineering recruitment firm, will kick off the first of a series of cross-country mentorship events for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), called the Launchpad Project.
“Combining mentorship and university scholarships, we can assist young women break through the glass ceiling, one STEM at a time.”
As part of the Launchpad Project, Tundra will be connecting women about to graduate high school with female mentors who are already working in STEM careers. The mentors will assist the future STEM grads by providing valuable educational and career insights, throughout their transition into their first year and possibly beyond. This two-part endeavour looks to help connect more than 145 high school students with STEM leaders and also includes ten $1,500 scholarships to be awarded to those women that choose to pursue STEM studies.
“Tundra has created the innovative Launchpad Project to jumpstart the careers of future female science and tech leaders,” said Tundra president Micah Williams. “Combining mentorship and $1,500 university scholarships, we can assist young women break through the glass ceiling, one STEM at a time. As a leading global recruiter of engineering and technology talent, we believe it’s Tundra’s duty to balance the workforce for the better and help grow diversity in STEM studies.
Williams called the Launchpad Project “a major first step” in helping to achieve gender parity in STEM-related fields.
The official launch is taking place Thursday at the University of Toronto’s Hart House. Heather Payne, the founder of Ladies Learning Code, will moderate a panel of STEM leaders including Leigha Mitchell, named to 2018’s Developer 30 Under 30, currently a software developer at FlashfoodInc; Yasmin Somani-Corringham, senior director, RBC global cloud services and operations; Stephen Gold, CTO and chief digital operations officer at Hudson’s Bay Company; and Sandy Linke, chief information officer at Metrolinx, the regional transportation coordinator.
Applications for the Tundra’s Launchpad Project can be found at scholartree.ca.