无忧传媒

Each year,聽鈥攁n聽initiative聽of聽the United聽Nations聽Foundation鈥攈osts聽a Leadership Summit to聽inspire聽girl leaders worldwide to achieve gender equality and catalyze social change.听The聽鈥攎ade virtual for the first time ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic鈥攂rought聽together聽nearly聽30,000 participants聽from 170 countries聽and featured speakers such as Michelle Obama, Meghan Markle, Hillary Clinton, and Sheryl Sandberg.

This year,聽the event remained virtual and featured聽Malala Yousafzai,聽WWE聽Superstar Sonya Deville, and UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed. 无忧传媒鈥檚 own聽Vice President聽Hillarie Flood聽served as a key speaker among the distinguished list of women leaders.

无忧传媒 also returned聽as a聽key partner, sponsoring the聽event鈥檚 STEM Day聽of聽Action, and, in order to help break down barriers to connectivity, provided聽a聽WiFi聽scholarship to 50 girls for the cost of data coverage聽to be able to attend the virtual Leadership Summit.听

At the STEM Day聽of聽Action,聽Flood discussed her career as a woman in a male-dominated, high-tech sector. She learned early on that her analytical skills and her ability to digest technical information, coupled with her ability to mobilize teams, communicate effectively, and lead strategic business solutions, positioned her as a key talent for developing and marketing technology solutions in high-tech Fortune 500 companies.听

Flood now works with product users and developers to provide customer solutions across an array of products and markets. Her career was launched at Microsoft, laying a foundation in the entrepreneurial high-tech industry, and she further advanced at AOL, and then Verisign.

Taking her own advice, Flood built a village of mentors and supporters. Starting in college, her initial major was electrical engineering. During a summer internship at IBM, Flood told her mentor that while she liked the work, it was the problem solving that most engaged and interested her. 鈥淪he told me that you don鈥檛 have to be an engineer to solve problems. That was the first time I heard of the role of a product manager,鈥� said Flood during the STEM Day of Action Fireside Chat.

鈥淭here are a variety of opportunities for girls in STEM. The foundation is to be curious, want to solve problems, and have a desire to impact in the world we live in.鈥�

Louise, a Girl Up Teen Advisor from Brazil, interviewed Flood for the聽event鈥檚聽Fireside Chat.听鈥淢any times,聽girls feel alone in their path,鈥澛爐he teen said.听鈥淗ow can we help聽them聽have more confidence?聽What advice would you give聽your聽younger self?鈥澛�

This聽sense of aloneness hasn鈥檛 changed enough yet, Flood admitted.听鈥淵ou talk about being the only one in a class and聽that聽was me.听I was often the only Black person and woman in the room many times.鈥�

She advised participants: 鈥淲hen you have earned a seat at the table,聽you鈥檙e there for a reason鈥攜ou鈥檝e earned it. You have to surround yourself with people鈥攁聽village鈥攖hat remind you and reinforce that, but also keep you honest and grounded. Also, take advantage of being there and open up a seat for another woman鈥攖hat will truly impact change.鈥�

Through partnering with initiatives聽and聽events聽like聽the Girl Up Leadership Summit, 无忧传媒 aims to create such a village for women in STEM.听As the nature of work continues to change due to the rapid evolution of technology, girls have vast opportunities in the field of STEM.

鈥淭hrough working with Girl Up to broaden the understanding about STEM pathways, 无忧传媒 can play a role in helping to inspire the next generation of female data scientists, engineers, and astronauts,鈥� said聽Anastasia Dellaccio, a senior manager聽on the firm鈥檚聽Community Impact and Philanthropy Team聽and organizer of the Girl Up partnership. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an investment in our future pipeline and聽an聽investment in our communities around us to ensure that girls everywhere have accessible opportunities in education and jobs of the future.鈥�

Learn more about聽聽the firm鈥檚聽Community Impact聽work, and how聽无忧传媒 supports women.听