"Women also want to help change the world"
KMD supports the non-profit, High5Girls, whose mission is to inspire young girls and women to discover a passion for technology. For several years, KMD has collaborated with and supported initiatives that promote diversity and balanced gender distribution in the IT-sector, as well as motivating more young people to engage in IT.
The founder of High5Girls, Marianne Andersen, was the only woman of her class when she studied electric engineering, and throughout her career, she has worked in a male-dominated business community. Now, she has decided that she wants to change this gender imbalance and support increased diversity and equality in STEM. High5Girls organizes hackathons and camps for girls and young women:
"We have chosen to focus on girls because they are under-represented in STEM. We focus on the age group between 13 and 19 because it is typically at that age that the field of education and career path is chosen,” Marianne tells.
At the events, female role models with a background in the industry share their passion for STEM. They show that women are just as fit for STEM-studies as men. Marianne stresses the importance of the participants being able to take the role models as their example:
"The girls can relate to the role models and see that 'if she can do it, so can I'. It is important that we have different role models from different industries and types of jobs because STEM is extensive. We need to broaden the image of STEM-jobs. It's broader than most women think today. This counts just as much for the mothers of the girls, as well as the girls themselves,” she states.
The girls can relate to the role models and see that 'if she can do it, so can I'. It is important that we have different role models from different industries and types of jobs because STEM is extensive. We need to broaden the image of STEM-jobs. It's broader than most women think today. This counts just as much for the mothers of the girls, as well as the girls themselves.
'Future Competencies' is a main focus of KMD's CSR-strategy. KMD supports non-profit initiatives such as High5Girls and Coding Class. Their missions are more technology on the timetable in primary schools and increased diversity and intake in STEM-studies. Future skills in technology are far-reaching, Marianne tells:
"We play around with technology. It can be robots, virtual reality, programming, or even textiles. For example, we have a hackathon in textile recycling and renewable energy, so we are very inclusive. Many want to learn how to program a robot which we offer. But in High5Girls, we try to engage all kinds of girls. Even those who are more into makeup, fashion, design, or the climate. We want to change the stereotypical image that technology has today. Technology can be a lot of things which are vital if you have the desire to help change the world for the better,” she says.
A diverse workforce is crucial as KMD's product portfolio is quite diverse as well. Comprehensive perspectives on product development can be crucial for KMD's solutions to embrace all customers' needs in the best possible way. As Marianne mentions, technology can be many things:
"As a female student at a technological education, you often experience a quite masculine image. We want to show that technology is more holistic, and that is also focused on people which is of great interest to a lot of girls and women. It is also about different personality types, diversity, and collaboration. That's why we need more girls and women in STEM. We are different, we look at things differently, and we are motivated differently,” Marianne Andersen states.
As a female student at a technological education, you often experience a quite masculine image. We want to show that technology is more holistic, and that is also focused on people which is of great interest to a lot of girls and women. It is also about different personality types, diversity, and collaboration. That's why we need more girls and women in STEM. We are different, we look at things differently, and we are motivated differently.
KMD works with the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals where 4: Quality education and 5: Gender equality are relevant in this regard. High5Girls supports the progress on these goals, and Marianne Andersen says that STEM-studies are an important enabler to help change the world:
"What we want to communicate to the next generations is that if you want to help change the world, you might as well choose a STEM-education as well as other fields of study. We want to show a new image of what tech-jobs are to inspire more women to jump into the world of STEM and to raise awareness of the field."
For High5Girls, diversity isn't just about gender. Marianne Andersen concludes by stating that at High5Girls there is room for everyone and especially diversity:
"We have 10-12 participants at the events, and that’s a good amount because we want to attract those girls who are a little shy and reserved. Sometimes, we also have participants with a diagnosis. We put a lot of effort into those girls, and we make sure that everyone is feeling comfortable and included. We have also had events where there are girls who cannot speak the language yet because they have just moved to Denmark. So, we want to welcome everyone. STEM has many different jobs. There's something for the introverts, the extroverts, and the ones in between.", concludes Marianne Andersen.