Facebook and Pinterest launch WEST scheme to bring more women into tech
Facebook, Pinterest and Box have announced a new mentorship scheme to help bring - and keep - women in tech jobs.
Sheryl Sandberg Facebook COO
The WEST programme (Women Entering and Staying in Tech) will see prominent female workers from the three participating firms offer one-on-one mentoring to women looking to progress in the industry.
The scheme which will launch exclusively in San Francisco’s Bay Area will look to address the gender imbalance in the Silicon Valley.
A statement on the West website reads: “Women make tech better but numbers show there’s a lot of work to do.
“The need for technical roles continues to grow and is expected to reach 1.4 million in 2020, yet the U.S. Census Bureau found that women’s representation in computer occupation has declined since the 1990’s.”
Workers in the fields of engineering, operations, product, design, and web development are welcome to sign up. Furthermore, the firms hope to expand West beyond San Francisco to provide opportunities to women in the industry on a wider scale.
This comes after Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg last year called for tech companies to break down the walls of gender stereotypes.