More Girls Should be Encouraged to Pursue Tech Careers (OPINION)

When I was in middle and high school, I was your average teenager. I wasn’t focused on a career as an executive for a Fortune 16 company, and the opportunities that awaited me certainly were not evident.

Today, the situation is the complete opposite for our young people. They are in high demand and are being heavily pursued to fill the rapidly increasing number of careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Some 80 percent of jobs in the next few years will require STEM skills and we do not have the workforce to meet that demand, nor will we at the rate in which we are engaging today’s students.

I’m proud to work for Verizon for many reasons, one of which is the value the company places on women leaders, and another is that we invest in young girls at a very early age.

STEM education is a critical focus for our students nationwide. Last year our foundation invested more than $19 million into it.  Part of that focus is on young girls, K-12th-graders, who could be our next Amelia Earhart, our next Albert Einstein or our next Steve Jobs. 

We do this because research has found that while 66 percent of fourth grade girls say they like science and math, only 18 percent of all college engineering majors are female. 

That’s not exactly a promising statistic, especially when projections are that 17 percent of new jobs through the year 2018 will be in STEM fields.

As community leaders, both male and female, we must inspire young girls to follow whatever path they choose, rather than be bound by traditional stereotypes that encouraged them to take family and consumer science — the new name for home economics — rather than shop class. Instead, we need to unleash them to be curious, get their hands dirty and take risks.

No one will command technology more than the next generation because technology is all they know. Our job as leaders in this industry is to provide these students — girls and boys alike — with a window into our world to get them excited and to get them to pursue smart solutions for tomorrow.

As president of Verizon’s South Central Region, I’ve had some powerful mentors who helped mold me, who encouraged me, who pushed me and helped me get to where I am today.

A female colleague once took me under her wing and invested in me — not only as a woman, but as a professional who would never be conscious of the “glass ceiling.” She also taught me that there would be times when I would be the only woman in a meeting and that I would have to ignore that fact and press forward confidently. That lesson’s poignancy became clear one day while I was working for Alltel, before that company was acquired by Verizon.

During a review of each director’s budget, one executive asked me point-blank about the pumps I was wearing rather than allowing me to review my budget.

That evening I went home, cut my hair, colored it brown and returned to work the next day in a dark pantsuit with no makeup on, ready to discuss my budget. I looked as much like every man in the room as I could. My point was made.

I’ve never had to make such a point again — and today, I proudly wear a variety of designer shoes — because the focus is not the shoes, it’s on being a woman on a level playing field with my colleagues and bringing value to the corporate table. 

I challenge you to identify a young girl whom you can help grow into a leader of tomorrow and offer these suggestions that have helped me:

• Have a beginner’s mind; be curious and ask questions.

• Take risks.

• When you’re “at the table,” always be present.

• Don’t compare the number of men and women.

• Know your value and demonstrate it.

• Be curious. Be courageous. Be bold. Be you. 

Kristi Crum is the president of Verizon’s South Central Region that covers Arkansas, western Tennessee and northern Mississippi.