What is Girls' Day?
Girls' Day is a special day recognized in Germany since the early 2000s, and it was created to encourage more women to pursue technical fields.
Each year, organizations all over the country host events for young girls to gain exposure to careers in technology and science. It’s an opportunity for them to learn about professions or fields of study in which the proportion of women is less than 40%, such as in IT or natural sciences. Oftentimes, the girls are introduced to female role models in leadership positions in business and politics – an important factor for igniting inspiration.
Girls' Day supports the initiative of non-stereotyped. The goal of the initiative is to establish a career and study choice free of gender stereotypes nationwide. The initiative includes the relevant federal ministries, the Federal Employment Agency, social partners and representatives from various states, science organizations, and businesses.
Girls’ Day at Productsup
Productsup has been participating in Girls’ Day for many years now. Through our participation, we help pave the way for Berlin school girls between the ages of 10-15 to enter the world of STEM. The practical experiences on the day of action spark interest in scientific and technical fields of work and strengthen the self-confidence of the participants. In this way, we encourage young girls to shape their professional future beyond gender stereotypes according to their ideas, interests, and talents.
Last month, we hosted a group of eight girls at our office in Berlin for Girls’ Day 2023. We started the day with icebreaker games so everyone could get to know each other better.
After that, my colleague Stefanie Mogdanz, Employee Onboarding Program Manager, shared what we do at Productsup and what our product is about. Explaining feed management and product content syndication to prospects and customers is one thing, but describing it to kids is a whole different story. But hey, “if you can’t explain something to a six-year-old, then you don't understand it yourself.” It was great seeing how engaged the girls were – they asked so many questions that you could practically feel their excitement and honest interest.
Later on, we had three of our female colleagues introduce themselves to the group and describe how they got started in tech. It was fascinating to hear the career success stories of Margherita Penta, Global Head of Technical Support, Anja Dittrich, Lead Product Manager, and Angelina Frisch, Senior Curriculum Developer.
After a quick break, we played a game that highlighted some of the most influential women in the tech industry, such as Ada Lovelace, Grace Hopper, Margret Hamilton and Marissa An Mayer (which also happen to be the names of our office conference rooms).
In the afternoon, we enjoyed a longer pizza break and then started a fun-filled workshop organized by Angelina Frisch. Angie introduced the girls to Calliope Mini, a small board with a big impact, which allowed them to discover the digital world and get an introduction to programming.
Why Girls’ Day matters
I have been organizing Girls’ Day for four years now. Not only is it a fun event, but it’s also a project close to my heart. Female empowerment is something I value both as a mum and as an employer for a tech company. Investing in young women and introducing Generation Alpha to the tech world is beneficial in so many ways. It’s our responsibility to try and understand their generation better, and do what we can to help them identify their strengths.