Multimedia Campaign Encourages Girls to Pursue a Career in Technology

Throughout history, women have left their legacy on technology. Among them are Ada Lovelace, who is widely considered the founder of scientific computing in the 1800s, and the six women who were responsible for programming the ENIAC, the world’s first all-electronic, programmable, and general-purpose computer, in the 1940s.

However, as time went on, women’s interest in technology started to decline.

“In the mid-1980s, 37 percent of all computer science majors were women,” said Steven Ostrowski, the Computing Technology Industry Association’s (CompTIA) director of corporate communications. “By 2010, that number had fallen below 18 percent. At the end of 2015, 5.1 million people in the U.S. were working in core technology jobs, but only 25 percent of the workforce was composed of women.”

CompTIA not only wanted to get to the root of this declining interest, but it also wanted to inspire young girls to pursue careers in technology.

And with those two goals in mind, it began initial work on its “Make Tech Her Story  (opens in a new tab)” campaign.

CompTIA started by conducting qualitative and quantitative research into girls’ and boys’ personal technology habits and perceptions of IT careers. They asked questions about gender-based stereotypes, sought answers about what drives or detracts from girls’ interest in IT, and shared profiles of women in technology today and the diversity of opportunities in technology.

“What we realized was that it’s more than girls not being as interested in IT careers,” Ostrowski said. “Part of what we needed to do was recast stereotypes of gender-based roles and jobs, educate young girls about technology careers—because 69 percent of girls surveyed didn’t know what a tech career involves—and provide passionate, adult mentors and role models, because early guidance matters.”

Part of what we needed to do was recast stereotypes of gender-based roles and jobs, educate young girls about technology careers, and provide passionate, adult mentors and role models.
— Steven Ostrowski, CompTIA

To support the campaign, CompTIA called on Rosie the Riveter, the cultural icon associated with women who joined the workforce during World War II. But instead of working in munitions factories and shipyards, Rosie circa 2016 is building mobile apps, managing the internet of things, and keeping cyber assets safe and secure.

“Rosie the IT Worker” was featured prominently on the campaign’s website, where visitors could build a personalized Rosie avatar, participate in a social media photo-sharing promotion, access career resources, and learn how to contribute to the next chapter in the history of women and the IT industry.

With the website and Rosie as the backbone of its efforts, CompTIA then did a full-on media blitz and advocacy effort in summer 2016. The primary goal was to inspire tech industry leaders, educators, parents, and young girls to “Make Tech Her Story,” and its secondary objective was to improve overall CompTIA brand awareness and raise its profile as a thought leader on workforce issues.

All the hard work that went into the multimedia campaign paid off: CompTIA generated 129 media placements in various publications, including The Economist, Forbes, and Fast Company. It also successfully recruited 50 guest bloggers to either write about the campaign or share it on social media, which helped them reach nearly 500,000 people.

In addition, the organization used its own Twitter handle to spread the word, along with the campaign hashtag #MakeTechHerStory. Within the first 30 days, there was an 85 percent increase in mentions and 15 percent increase in followers. The website, which was the focal point of the campaign, received 7,370 total visitors (5,396 of them unique).

The campaign also earned CompTIA a 2017 ASAE Gold Circle Award  (opens in a new tab) in the Media/Public Relations/Advocacy category.

“We’re delighted with the results and the opportunity to encourage parents and guardians, teachers, and tech professionals that we can all be a driving force to ‘Make Tech Her Story,’” Ostrowski said.