Shaping ‘Girls in ICT’ Days with Cisco
Making the ICT sector a more diverse place to work
Cisco called upon Spark Change to develop a marketing pitch for teenage girls considering their careers and an event toolkit for Cisco staff participating in the International Telecommunication Union’s 2013 “Girls in ICT Days”.
The Spark Change focus for this work was on the social, humanitarian and global impact of ICT and, in particular, the Internet. The core message to the thousands of teenage girls targeted for the campaign was “So, are we going to leave IT to the boys?” The pitch pointed to the knowledge sharing power of Internet technology, its impact on healthcare and the environment and its pervasive and powerful reach into practically everything we do.
The attractiveness of the tech sector as an employer and the need for diversity within it was conveyed through powerful statistics and female role model testimonial. Girls were asked whether they intend to sit back and leave progress in the tech sector to boys or be equal players in creating and using technology that has real power to change the world for the better.
For the event management toolkit, Spark Change drew upon its deep rooted experience in the field of global event organisation; suggested Cisco leverage it’s own technologies to virtually connect girls globally; and linked Cisco to various organisations worldwide specialised in outreach to girls, thereby making it easier for Cisco staff to focus on the message while partners ensured a full-house.
This toolkit is still being used across Cisco’s 200+ offices globally by staff hosting career days for girls. 2013 was a record year for Cisco Girls in ICT days with more staff, schools and girls participating than even before.
