Waffle launches new initiative to close gender gap in technology with support from Kindril Japan
*Waffle*
Press release: August 27, 2024
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Waffle launches new initiative to close gender gap in technology with support from Kindril Japan
*Based on the partnership between Kyndryl, Inc. and United Way Worldwide, IT education opportunities are provided to middle school, high school, and university students*
Waffle, a specified non-profit organization (location: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, chairman: Tanaka)
Sayaka (hereinafter referred to as Waffle) has announced a new cooperation structure with Kindril Japan Co., Ltd. (location: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Jonathan Ingram, hereinafter referred to as Kindril).
The background behind this is that Kyndryl, Inc. of the United States is a member of the United Way, one of the world’s largest charity organizations.
We have partnered with Worldwide to develop and provide STEM education opportunities around the world. In Japan, Waffle was selected and, with the full cooperation of Kindril Japan, will provide information technology education opportunities to girls and non-binary middle school, high school, and university students with the aim of closing the gender gap in the technology field. Masu.
Today, Waffle, in collaboration with Kindler, is proud to announce that Waffle College
We held an entrance event for the Tech Career Course. The event featured a panel discussion by Kindler employees about careers in the IT industry, giving undergraduate and graduate students from across the country a valuable opportunity to learn about career possibilities in the technology field.
According to data released by the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) in September 2021 (*), Japan ranks lowest among the 36 OECD member countries in terms of the proportion of women in science fields. One way to eliminate this gender gap is to provide opportunities for students to be exposed to science fields at a wide range of stages, from junior high and high school students to university students, and to support them so that they can develop an interest in technology and build a career in it. The collaboration between Waffle and Kindril will enhance learning opportunities for programming and app development and exposure to role models, especially for middle school, high school and university students, and encourage career development in the technology industry.
In the future, Waffle and Kindril plan to jointly develop the following activities:
* ●Waffle College*
: Kindler employees volunteer to provide feedback on programming and app development to female and non-binary college students.
* ●Technovation Girls*
: A global app and business development contest for girls and gender minority middle and high school students. Kindler employees will be involved as mentors and provide coding support for participants from Japan.
Mayumi Kawakami, Director of Kindril and General Manager of Network Edge Business, who gave a speech at the entrance event on the same day, commented as follows.
“We are very honored that Kindril and Waffle will be able to work together to support activities that will help people become more familiar with IT technology and give them a concrete idea of a career in the IT field.
Kindril, whose brand idea is the lifeline of social growth, is an IT company that supports social infrastructure, and has a responsibility to develop human resources who can utilize technology to create a better society. I would be happy if this initiative provided an opportunity to build a prosperous future. ”
Aki Matsuyama, responsible for Kindril’s social impact, said: “For companies, closing the gender gap is very important in terms of increasing organizational diversity and creativity.Kindrill is working globally to ensure that the talents of all people are valued equally, not only from a business perspective but also from a social
contribution perspective. We support the creation of an environment in which people can make the most of their work and the development of next-generation leaders in the technology industry.We are looking forward to working with Waffle, who is leading this initiative in Japan, and our employees to build a better society together. ”
Sayaka Tanaka, Chairman of Waffle, commented on this collaboration as follows: “We are excited to partner with Kindril to strengthen our efforts to close the gender gap in technology. This collaboration will allow more girls and non-binary middle school, high school, and college students to gain exposure to the world of technology and help shape their future. We will support you as you take the next step towards your career.”
(*) Reference: http://www.compareyourcountry.org/gender-equality/en/0//default/
* [About Waffle, a specified non-profit organization] *
A non-profit organization that aims to eliminate the gender gap in the IT field and provides a place for women and non-binary middle school, high school, university, and graduate students to learn programming for free. Waffle is a free website creation course for middle and high school students.
Camp”, international app development contest “Technovation
We support the participation of “Waffle Girls” in Japan, hold various events in collaboration with companies, and provide free programming training for university students and graduate students “Waffle
College” was implemented.
In addition, he actively proposes policies such as the “Basic Policy for Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform (commonly known as the Basic Policy)” in order to correct the social structure. In 2020, won the 4th Japan SDGs Award “SDGs Partnership Award”. His main
publications include “Me x IT = The Strongest Theory”
A guidebook for women and gender minorities to succeed in IT (published by Little More). Location: Shibuya Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative: Sayaka Tanaka, Chairman.
https://waffle-waffle.org/
* [About Kyndryl Holdings, Inc.] *
Kindril (NYSE:
KD) is one of the world’s largest IT infrastructure service providers serving thousands of enterprise customers in more than 60 countries, providing access to the complex and mission-critical information systems that businesses around the world use in their daily
operations. We design, build, manage, and modernize. For more information,
Please visit www.kyndryl.com or www.kyndryl.com/jp/ja.