Alberta Status of Women Minister Stephanie McLean announced $100,000 in funding for the Making Changes Association to prepare Indigenous and immigrant women for careers in technology.
“Women are chronically underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector. And it’s even harder for immigrant and Indigenous women to secure STEM jobs, perpetuating the gender pay gap.
“Programs like this remove barriers for women, lifting them out of poverty and into economic security. And that makes life better for Alberta families,” said McLean.
Calgary’s Making Changes will launch a program that trains women for higher paying jobs in the computer networking sector. It will partner with Momentum and YYC Net Lab to deliver the program.
“We will combine life skills coaching, technical training and hands-on work experience to help immigrant and Indigenous women get good jobs in Calgary,” said Making Changes executive director Cathy Coutts.
Status of Women’s first-ever grants program will fund 34 innovative projects by not-for-profit and charitable organizations for a total of $1.5 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year. Successful projects will work to end violence against women and girls, help women get good jobs and close the wage gap, and increase the number of women in leadership roles.