MCWT Celebrates 20 Years of Impact, Previews New Programs Supporting Women in Tech at Annual Gala

SOUTHFIELD, Nov. 11, 2022 – The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation, along with Host Sponsor Dow Inc., gathered 650 tech professionals to celebrate and empower leaders changing the world through technology in Michigan. The nonprofit’s 14^th annual Signature Gala at the MGM Grand in Detroit on Nov. 5 raised a record $600,000 in gross proceeds for programs that inspire and grow girls and women in tech in Michigan.

“The gala was a night of celebration as the MCWT Foundation is in its 20^th year of impact and our host sponsor Dow celebrates its 125^th anniversary,” said Chris Rydzewski, MCWT executive director. “We are both firmly committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in our tech community to lead the way in making Michigan the No. 1 state for women in tech.”

Dow Chairman and CEO Jim Fitterling inspired Gala participants and reinforced that he is an ally of the MCWT cause.

“Just imagine how much better your community will be when we persuade just one more high school girl that there’s a very bright future in the technology field and it’s waiting for her right here in Michigan,” said Fitterling. “Together we can work to raise awareness of the opportunities within tech, introduce more women to STEM experiences and grow a diverse tech workforce that’s so critical to business success.”

MCWT’s growing influence across the state has led to six new program initiatives in 2022. One such program that will be launched in early 2023 is the MCWT Returnship designed to bring more women back into the technology workforce.

“The pandemic has disproportionately impacted women who have had to drop out of the workforce due to childcare and other challenges while the demand for tech talent has increased several fold,” said Rajani Sinha, MCWT president and senior director, Industry Solutions and Strategy, Automotive for Salesforce. “With this program, we plan to provide women with the right resources and connections to enable them to thrive in a technology career.”

Throughout the year, MCWT encouraged students in their technology journeys and supported the advancement of more women in technology fields. A sampling of impact:

– Provided $165,000 total in scholarship awards for 43 students, more than half of which have previously engaged in MCWT programs and events, demonstrating the power of MCWT’s holistic lifecycle strategy.

– Increased career and leadership programming for first-line to middle managers to ensure women not only stay but advance in tech careers.

– Expanded reach in the Great Lakes Bay Region and West Michigan, strengthening both regional and university alliances.

– Resumed in-person technology camps for 140 middle and high school girls in Metro Detroit, Saginaw and Grand Rapids.

– Launched MCWT’s Women in Tech Podium to gather tech leaders to serve as role models for speaking engagements for girls or other career professionals.

With a theme of “Imagine Better,” 54 companies sponsored the event, including Dow as the gala’s Host Sponsor. Other supporters: Dell Technologies and Intel as Innovation Sponsors; Accenture, Check Point, Consumers Energy, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, ServiceNow, Stellantis, Stryker and Wipro as Empowerment Sponsors; Abnormal Security, AlixPartners, Ally, AAM, AMI Strategies, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Comerica Bank, Coretek, Deloitte, Epitec, FastTek Global, Flagstar Bank, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HTC Global Services, Little Caesars, Masco, Microsoft, NTT, Perficient, Salesforce, SentinelOne, Slalom, Snowflake, Systems Technology Group, Tanium, Tech Mahindra, Trinity Health, United Wholesale Mortgage, V2Soft, Vectorform and Yazaki as Engagement Sponsors; and AF Group, Cabinetworks Group, Pure Storage, Confluent, Donyati, Softek, CDW, Infor, EY, and Stefanini as Supporting Sponsors.

The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation strives to inspire and grow girls and women in technology fields, with an aspirational vision to make Michigan the No. 1 state for women in technology. The organization supports Michigan’s female tech workforce, students, corporate partners, schools and the overall community with networking, learning, mentoring, and technology experiences for professionals and students. Find more information at www.mcwt.org and connect via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

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