FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julie Kantor – 202-431-5016; [email protected] Kate Filer – 202-403-8911; [email protected] Million Women Mentors (MWM) Meets with Congress March 5 To Salute Leaders and Mobilize the Country to Mentor Girls in STEM Skills MARCH 3, 2014 — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly 20 key women Senate and House leaders gather to join the Million Women Mentors (MWM) movement as it hosts a celebratory luncheon in the Hart Senate Building on Wednesday, March 5. The event salutes these U.S. Senators and Representatives as they work to advance the roles of girls and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and career development. Senate attendees include: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-LA), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). House attendees include: Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA), Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH), Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). “If we’re going to keep our competitiveness in the global economy, we must prepare our students with the education they need for the jobs of the future. That starts with getting more talented students – and girls – into the STEM pipeline at a younger age, expanding engineering education, and bringing more STEM teachers into high-need communities. Million Women Mentors will make all the difference, giving our young girls role models in STEM fields and mentors to guide them though. We are relying on our children today to be the innovators of tomorrow. It’s our job to make sure they are prepared,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Following the luncheon, a reception will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building for the female Ambassadors serving residencies in the U.S. to honor International Women’s Day, and to date, 18 women ambassadors are confirmed to attend. Co-sponsored by MWM and the Diplomatic Courier, the reception is meant to salute the ambassadors as role models for women and girls globally. Today in Washington there is a record 27 women serving terms as ambassadors to the United States, a testament to the advancement of women in all career fields. MWM is an engagement campaign and national call to action that mobilizes corporations, government entities, non-profit and higher education groups, around the imperative of mentoring girls and young women in STEM fields. Since MWM’s launch in January 2014, nearly 45,000 pledges have been made to mentor girls and young women in STEM skills. The web portal (www.millionwomenmentors.org) was launched in conjunction with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Available online is a nationwide call to action to capture pledge commitments from individuals, organizations and companies that have an interest in mentoring. In the second and third phases, the website will be enhanced with matching capabilities to pair organizations and educational institutions in need of mentors in STEM fields with STEM professionals and corporations. Additionally, the site will recognize those with model STEM mentoring programs and share timely learning resources for all. Founding sponsors include: Accenture, Cisco, Sodexo and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in addition to ADP, Alpha Corporation, the Department of Defense, Diana Davis Spencer Foundation, FleishmanHillard, Microsoft Research, Diversified Search and Walmart. Silver sponsors include: Adecco Group North America, Freescale, General Motors, Discovery, Intellectual Ventures, UST Global and Reston Limousine. To date, MWM is the collective action of 52 national partners. The four founding partners are STEMconnector®, National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), MentorNet and NPower. Lead partners include The National 4-H Council, Girls Inc., The Manufacturing Institute, MENTOR, Teach for America, AAUW, Great Minds in STEM, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), Business and Professional Women’s Foundation (BPW), National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT), YWCA, Center for Women in Business/ US Chamber Foundation, Junior Achievement, Sally Ride Science, Skills USA, Girl Scouts of the USA, Lean In, US News & World Report, Diversity Woman, Diplomatic Courier, Enterprising Women, Discovery Communications, National Utilities Diversity Council (NUDC), National Women’s Political Caucus, eWomen Network, Girlstart, Global WIN, Innovate+Educate, My College Options, National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE), US 2020, Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN), Computer Clubhouse Network, LATINAstyle, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Success in the City, Arizona State University, The Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN), The American Geophysical Union (AGU), The Association of Women in Energy (AWE), FIRST Robotics, Thinking Media, TechBridge and Nepris. MWM is an initiative of STEMconnector®, the national organization owned by Diversified Search LLC that works closely with corporations and thousands of entities to assist in STEM best practices and smart STEM investments. For more information about MWM, visit www.MillionWomenMentors.org.