Studies show that nearly three-quarters of young girls express an interest in STEM fields, yet women hold only about a quarter of all STEM jobs by the time they got to the workforce.
To address this alarming disparity, Samsung-owned HARMAN and the 1,000 Dreams Fund, a national non-profit that provides micro-grants to women, launched the New Face of Tech (NFOT) challenge in 2017 to inspire and financially support young women interested in pursuing careers in STEM. To enter, women submit a photo demonstrating how they represent the #NewFaceofTech along with a personal account describing how they would use the grant funding to achieve their goals.
NFOT furthers HARMAN and the 1,000 Dreams Funds’ collective goals to increase awareness for STEM education, empower young women to pursue their dreams in STEM-related fields and provide both financial support and potential career opportunities at HARMAN to help them begin their journey.
Two thousand nineteen marked the program’s third year, and the partners raised these ambitions by offering more grants alongside mentorships and the opportunity to interview for a permanent role at HARMAN. New Face of Tech Four (NFOT4), which launches this fall amidst a global pandemic when support is particularly critical, will go a step further still by helping build a pipeline of employment opportunities for all program applicants interested in tech careers – not just the winners.
Since launching in 2017, HARMAN and 1DF have granted tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to young women across the U.S. through the New Face of Tech scholarship program. Moreover, they have used the platform to provide long-term support like mentorship and career opportunities. However, in order to achieve gender parity in STEAM fields and help bolster the recruitment pipeline, the partners acknowledge there’s always more work to do, which is why they keep raising their ambition year-after-year.
In 2019, HARMAN and 1DF expanded the partnership to honor twice as many promising female students as in the first two years of the competition combined. Female STEAM leaders-to-be were invited to enter by submitting a snapchat-like photo entry through a custom online platform hosted by 1DF. Entrants also shared which area of STEAM they find most inspiring, the career path they’re pursuing and the impact they hope to make once they enter the workforce.
To ensure the campaign reached its full potential, HARMAN and 1DF both implemented thoughtful social media strategies across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Discord, raising awareness using the #NewFaceofTech hashtag. This strategy featured:
In addition to social media, HARMAN drove engagement externally through strategic marketing and PR, including email and press release announcements around the #NewFaceofTech campaign. To further amplify the competition and the important cause, entrants were encouraged to share their submission on social media.
The NFOT3 program ran in November and December 2019 and received more than 150 applications. Fifteen finalists were selected by a panel of HARMAN and 1DF executives over the course of the submission period. Finalists not only received $2000 grants to pursue their career goals, they were given career coaching sessions with HARMAN leadership, resume workshops, premium audio products from HARMAN’s JBL® brand and a direct line to interview for internships and permanent fulltime roles. As a result of this direct access, HARMAN is the proud employer of a NFOT winner. To provide further career exposure, the winners were also featured as the #NewFaceofTech by @1000DreamsFund through a social campaign that highlighted their individual stories.
During the 2019 New Face of Tech challenge, HARMAN and 1DF received 153 applications. The campaign generated 2.57k visits to the microsite, and the promotions across all platforms garnered more than 500,000 impressions, 350 re-shares, 1,800 likes and 100 replies.
The NFOT program is particularly necessary during the global pandemic because women in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) need support now more than ever. In fact, 1DF has seen a 30-50% increase in applications to scholarship programs this year. That’s why, in 2020, HARMAN and 1DF are doubling the number of monetary prizes once again – to 40 grants – while still offering winners one-on-one coaching sessions and career opportunities with HARMAN.
In addition, the partners are helping underprivileged children foster their creativity through music education through the Power of Music Video Challenge. This program extension encourages past NFOT applicants to create a short video about the importance of music in their lives. These videos will be packaged together and sent around to schools that work with HARMAN and non-profit Little Kids Rock to provide music education to children. This initiative is particularly meaningful because it is the first time HARMAN is connecting underserved communities together through its nonprofit partnerships.
This success and overwhelming amplification demonstrates the great impact that these micro grants and ongoing support from HARMAN and 1DF have on the lives of winners and others. The partners will continue working diligently towards empowering young women to pursue their career aspirations in STEAM fields throughout 2020 and beyond.
