Emerging Leaders from the Middle East and Africa Visit Symantec for the 2014 TechWomen Initiative

By Ruha Devanesan, Symantec's Manager, Global Diversity and Inclusion
Sep 18, 2014 9:00 AM ET
The 2013 TechWomen class. For the fourth year in a row, Symantec is participating in the TechWomen initiative and will host six female Emerging Leaders from Tunisia, Cameroon, Algeria, Morrocco and Libya.

Emerging Leaders from the Middle East and Africa Visit Symantec for the 2014 Te…

As many of you know, opening the doors for women to thrive in STEM education and careers is a key focus for Symantec. Our work in this area is driven primarily through initiatives and partnerships managed by our Corporate Responsibility team, and supported by the volunteer efforts of thousands of employees worldwide. Our initiatives target females at all life and career stages as the challenge of increasing the number of female STEM professionals requires educating and supporting females at many points along their career development path from early education to professional career development.

As part of the Global Diversity and Inclusion team, I am involved in many of these initiatives and have the opportunity to see first-hand what a difference they make. For the fourth year in a row, this October, Symantec is participating in the US Department of State’s TechWomen initiative, whose mission is to “empower, connect, and support the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from Africa and the Middle East”.  I could not be more excited to help organize Symantec’s involvement with this initiative.