With the widespread adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the commercial and nonprofit worlds, an increasing number of employment opportunities require an understanding of and ability to contribute to this kind of software. One of the biggest hurdles to contributing to FOSS is lack of experience or opportunities to try it. Our Open Source Day (OSD) gives women from around the world the chance to learn how to contribute to the open source community, regardless of their skill or experience level. More than two hundred women of varied skills and experience levels will work together to develop projects during the Code-A-Thon. Attendees will also have the opportunity to network and work with mentors from a variety of commercial and nonprofit organizations. Lunch and OSD swag will be provided for all participants.

1000 GIRLS, 1000 FUTURES is an innovative new program designed to take on one of the world's biggest challenges right now: getting more women into STEM. The 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures program wants to grow the STEM pipeline and get more young women into some of the most important STEM-related careers of our world. If you are looking for an opportunity to make a real difference in a student's life, you can become a part of a program with the potential to positively impact society. The 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures Program is a world-wide effort that pairs motivated, enthusiastic mentors with smart, STEM-focused high. When you volunteer to mentor with 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures, you are not only devoting time to help further the future of STEM by encouraging a young woman to pursue her passion within the field, but you are also able to connect to a global network of like-minded female STEM professionals with whom to share experiences and resources.

The European Commission has launched the Connected Communities Initiative, a public call for expressions of interest for broadband projects interested in the use of financial instruments. Connected Communities aim to gather information from the market about existing connectivity projects that seek to provide high-speed broadband (30 Mbps and above) and are currently under consideration by public and private promoters, in particular regional and local decision makers.

Google is expanding its recruitment efforts to include universities and communities to raise the company's level of workforce diversity. The move hopes to entic more young women into the world of computing and technology and entrench engineers from Historically Black universities and colleges into its workforce. The search giant, as well as many other top tech companies, landed in the media potlight last year when internal hiring and employee statistics regarding workforce diversity revealed that tech giants are dominantly male in terms of both staff and management, with very small populations of non-white and female workers. In an effort to be more transparent regarding workforce hiring and employee demographics, several tech titans released insight on staff diversity.

A new study revealed a noteworthy uptick in women receiving assistant professorships in traditionally male-dominated fields, though not everyone is convinced by the findings.
Two Cornell Department of Human Development Professors, Wendy Williams and Stephen Ceci, recently co-authored a survey examining preferences for assistant professorships based on gender. The professors performed a variety of experiments to test preferences. Some of these experiments included emailing evaluators applications of three candidates and asking evaluators to rank candidates first, second or third based on their preferences.he candidates were surveyed in the fields of engineering, biology, psychology and economics. The study revealed that women were preferred in a 2:1 ratio when comparing lifestyles such as single, married or divorced to men in the fields of engineering, biology and psychology. Men and women were given equal preference in economics. These results came as a shock for Williams and the people working on the experiments.

Due to limited access to certain natural resources (such as: clean water, energy, reliable agriculture sources) PepsiCo must find innovative ways to connect with and help consumers in emerging markets as well as domestic markets. PepsiCo must also strategically find ways to make advances in areas of sustainability.
PepsiCo is looking to leverage young engineers to identify disruptive innovations - innovations that impact us across every function and country to address unmet needs and improve the way in which we make, move and sell our products while doing so in a way that furthers PepsiCo's commitment to environmental sustainability as well as its impact on society.

The Arctic Conference,is the largest TECH Conference in the Nordics! Attendees include entrepreneurs, start-up employees, venture capitalists, angel investors, and journal investors. Girls In Tech, CEO Adriana Gascoigne, will be speaking on the topic, BUILDING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND. Some of the workshops taking place are: How to Enter the U.K., How to Choose the Right Investor, How to Find A VC in the Haystack, P.R. for Start Ups, How to Handle Founder Issues.

Silicon Valley-based non-profit Girls In Tech is on a mission to help female engineers thrive. In their recent partnership with Silicon Valley Internship Program, (SVIP), they're focused on educating and connecting female engineers from all over the world to startups in Silicon Valley in their efforts to secure a one-year internship. GIT's hope is to boost the numbers of women in the space and encourage them to continue their career path.

Creativity and critical thinking are essential for innovation in today's digital world. Within the framework of Mons 2015 European Capital of Culture, the symposium will explore cultural and creative cross-overs to stimulate innovation, economic sustainability and social inclusion.

NCWIT PockIT Facts delivers statistics about women and girls in technology as shareable infographics. Each fact links to full reports available at the NCWIT website. Discover resources and best practices for improving gender diversity in technology in schools, universities, and businesses.

Search the Apple App Store or the Android Apps on Google Play for ''NCWIT'' or ''PockIT.''