The Future of Technology Belongs to Girls as Take Our Daughters to Work Day Returns to Microsoft

REDMOND, Wash., April 26, 2001 — Microsoft is welcoming over 300 girls to join their Microsoft parents or mentors in discovering the future of technology today at the Redmond corporate campus. A full day of programs, tours and activities are planned to foster an interest in technology and provide participants with a broad range of possibilities for career success in technology fields.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top five fastest growing occupations between 1998 and 2008 will be in information technology, a field which requires advanced computer skills. However, because too few women are graduating with engineering and computer science degrees, women continue to be underrepresented in the industry. By demonstrating to girls at this important age the wide spectrum of possibilities offered by technology, Microsoft hopes to encourage and inspire them into brilliant careers in hi-tech.

“For Microsoft, today is of particular importance as it allows us to demonstrate — through various programs and activities throughout the day — the rewarding and fun opportunities that a career in technology can provide to interested girls,”
said Gretchen Olsen-Jacobsen, Microsoft learning program manager and executive board member of Microsoft’s Hoppers Organization (Hoppers is an all volunteer organization within the company dedicated to attracting women to careers both at Microsoft and the sector.).
“It is a way to show that as technology advances, so do the career possibilities for the future.”


We applaud

Microsoft

for

using Take Our Daughters To Work Day to introduce girls to technology in its various forms, from research to marketing.

For this year’s event, participants and their parents or mentors will be able to take part in a number of events including:

  • Demonstrations of emerging technologies, including eBooks

  • Hands-on classes that teach participants how to write and develop Web sites; conduct product and marketing research; even test for
    “bugs”
    in software

  • Interactive tours of the Microsoft Studios, MSNBC Studios, Microsoft’s Usability Labs and Data Center, the
    “Car of Tomorrow”
    (with hands-free, voice-activated services) and the interactive Microsoft Home

  • Presentations like
    “Digital Girl in a Digital World”
    where participants will get a glimpse of Microsoft’s vision of the future and how technology plays an important role in day-to-day life

Since its inception nine years ago, Microsoft has been an annual participant in the National Take

Our Daughters to Work Day, sponsored again this year by Hoppers, an officially recognized women’s organization within the company. Female employees use Hoppers as an empowerment tool — networking, participating in mentor programs, sharing job concerns and experiences, learning how to balance work and family, and helping to advance their careers.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

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