New organization promoting technology driven careers for women and girls

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Technology is ever evolving but it's mainly viewed as a male dominated field, now there's a new push on the Grand Strand to get more women involved. Women in Technology is under the umbrella of the Grand Strand Technology Council, and it will focus on feeding technology driven resources to girls and women of all ages in Horry County.

The Women in Technology kick-off reception was held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center Friday night. It was a room filled with chemists, nurses, educators, business professionals, and entrepreneurs, all of them women, all of them exploring ways to enhance the technology career and business of the women sitting next to them.

Brandy Incorvia, WIT President said, "We're looking at kicking off this event not only to build a network of women that not only can build in technology but can also mentor women that are coming into the field and bridge the gap between elementary, middle, and high school students to get them involved in the STEMS's."

This new initiative was berthed when local women already in technology-driven careers started noticing a trend with young girls. "What we're finding nowadays is that you don't have girls involved in these (technology careers/STEM programs) they are mainly male roles and so we really want to bridge that gap and let women know that they are just as vital as men are in those areas," Incorvia explained.

The next general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 3, 2014. For more information on Women in Technology click

Organization members will serve as role models to encourage girl students and young adult women to pursue technology careers, something local educators believe will promote economic steadiness for our area.

Robin Jones, Principal of Academy of Arts, Science, & Technology said, "This organization seems to be an opportunity to make connections for internships and for building professional experiences so our students can go on and help support the economic stability of Horry County. "We have students and we brought a student with us tonight who are interested in technology and we brought teachers with us so they are understanding how to make those connections," Jones added.

Looking to the future, their goal is also to empower women already in the technology field to push through the glass ceilings of the industry and eliminate common stereotypes.

"Usually when you think about technology you're thinking about people that are in engineering and IT fields, so that is what we want to make sure we get that stigma away from. Incorvia adds, "We have a wide range and we want to let the women know that technology is not just about engineering that every field you are going into is going to have some technology in it."

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