Utah girls get hands-on experience at SheTech
OREM— American Fork High School senior Abbie Rogers has a plan for the future, and it’s one that was shaped in part by a novel effort to boost the number of young Utah women seeking careers in technology fields.
On Friday, the SheTech Explorer event drew almost 1,200 girls from 90 high schools to the Utah Valley University campus for a day of activities designed to show them that tech careers are not just for boys.
Cydni Tetro is the founder and president of the Sandy-based Women Tech Council, which started SheTech three years ago. She said women are drastically underrepresented in advanced-industry employment, even now as Utah’s tech sector experiences rapid growth.
“Women are only represented by 15 percent of the workforce,” Tetro said. “So, there’s this really amazing opportunity to say, how do we get this next generation to really be part of this whole economic ecosystem, especially for our state.”
By Art Raymond, KSL