Pepsico, STEMconnector® Partner on Million Women Mentors Movement

WASHINGTON, Dec. 03, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEMconnector®’s Million Women Mentors (MWM) supports the engagement of one million Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) mentors to increase the interest and confidence of girls and women to persevere and succeed in STEM programs and careers. Through the engagement of one million mentors, the goals are to: increase the percentage of high school girls planning to pursue STEM careers; increase the percentage of young women pursuing undergraduate degrees in STEM fields; and increase the percentage of women staying and advancing in STEM careers through supporting workforce mentoring programs. PepsiCo chairs MWM’s global leadership council, and is committed to addressing the challenge of helping to achieve these goals. To date, over 530,000 pledges to mentor have been received from across sectors. Million Women Mentors has a robust national and state network through its 65 national partners and state leaders as well as 50+ corporate sponsors across industries.

In 2015, PepsiCo boosted its MWM participation by mobilizing over 100 mentors in the United States. In addition, PepsiCo launched MWM’s first pilot program outside the U.S., in Mexico. Over the course of the 2015-2016 school year, 36 volunteer mentors will pair with a first-year STEM student from Universidad Iberoamericana. In 2016, this program will be replicated by other universities, high schools, and companies. PepsiCo’s goal is to sponsor 1,000 mentors in areas beyond the U.S. and Mexico, including France, Poland, and Dubai.

A recent blog article, How to Help 30 Million Girls Build Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, authored by Pepsico’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi and STEMconnector®’s Chief Executive Officer Edie Fraser discusses their shared vision for the movement and ends with this positive message: “We can be the catalyst, and these girls can—and will—build the future.”

About STEMconnector®

STEMconnector®, a subsidiary of Diversified Search, is a consortium of companies, associations, societies, policy organizations, government entities, universities and academic institutions, working together, to advance STEM education and careers. With several products and services, STEMconnector® is both a resource and a service, designed to link “all things STEM.” STEMconnector®’s network includes organizations at the global, national, state and local levels. STEMconnector® focuses on the STEM workforce and jobs, with a particular emphasis on diversity and women. The work spans the entire pipeline (kindergarten to jobs) and how STEM education experiences translate into careers. Go to http://www.stemconnector.org/. To learn more about how you can get engaged with Million Women Mentors visit http://www.millionwomenmentors.org.

Washington, DC Contact: 
Lorena Fimbres 
(202) 296-3009