Meaningful advances in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are rarely the result of one mind. They’re the result of many different capabilities and perspectives, each contribution unique and essential. Yet innovation currently does not benefit from the full participation of women, who are still underrepresented in the global STEM workforce.
The EY Global Women in Technology (EY WiT) Program was created in 2020 to support girls and women to enter, remain, thrive and lead in the world of technology. EY WiT offers activities for women in technology and their allies to get involved in and connects a growing community of more than 40 networks across 150 countries within the organization.
Since the program’s inception, leaders have taken a deliberate, strategic approach. “You don’t need to boil the ocean and address everything at once,” says EY WiT Executive Sponsor Amanda Gethin who also is the EY Global Consulting Talent Leader, “but it’s important to start somewhere, with passion and a desire to make an impact.”
The impact that EY WiT ultimately seeks to achieve is to support the women who are already in technology professions to thrive in their careers, inside and outside EY, and to increase the pipeline of girls and women in technology. “Our main objective is to reinforce the message that girls and women belong in tech, and to encourage more girls to enter technology education,” says Eileen Hahn, EY Global Women in Tech Program Leader.
What’s at Stake
In a technology-driven world, the critical role that STEM professionals play highlights the urgent need for gender parity. The absence of diverse perspectives in innovation usually yields inferior, and sometimes dangerous, results. Some examples include:
Facial recognition technologies can’t recognize the faces of black women.
Airbags and seat belts that, until recently, were evaluated exclusively on crash-test dummies designed based on the male body. As a result, women are 73% more likely to be seriously injured in car accidents.
CPR manikins, designed without female anatomy, have contributed to disparities in CPR administration for women during emergencies.
As for gender parity in leadership, research shows that companies with diverse leadership teams are more innovative, creative, and profitable than those without. Yet women remain underrepresented in leadership roles.
A Global Initiative
The EY Global WiT Program operates at the center of a community of networks organized by countries and topical areas, all dedicated to advancing women in technology and STEM fields. EY WiT organizes activities, provides resources, and exchanges knowledge with the networks within this far-flung community. In addition, the program elevates and amplifies the best practices from around the world and enables them to scale in terms of impact.
Program sponsor Amanda Gethin says she believes in the power of “Bringing together the widest range of perspectives, abilities and lived experiences.” Recently, Gethin’s work was acknowledged when she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Women in Tech Global Awards 2024, hosted by WomenTech Network. The award was in recognition of a global career focused on nurturing diversity and advocating for women. The EY WiT Program itself received an Honorary Mention and was a finalist for the ERG/Corporate Initiative of the Year Award.
One Strategy, Five Pillars
The EY WiT approach to supporting gender parity in technology is comprehensive and inclusive. Each of the five pillars plays a critical role, whether one’s goal is to learn, to train, to lead, or to innovate. Core success drivers are internal and external relationships, career development, and the exchange of knowledge:
Educate: Supporting the next generation of girls to enter in STEM careers
Incubate: Nurturing talented women in technology — both within EY and beyond
Innovate: Adding to the discussion around gender parity and supporting technology innovations
Advocate: Empowering women to find advocates for themselves and their careers, and also to become advocates for others
Activate: Community-building activities across the regional and competency networks
A Record of Success
In less than five years, the EY Global Women in Tech Program has built a thriving network and nurtured powerful partnerships, with successes that include:
The program’s education initiative took a leap forward with the creation of the EY STEM App. The app is designed so that girls around the world can experience gamified STEM learning in which users can earn rewards points. The app, which is currently live in over 22 countries, has been used to train more than 150,000 girls as of March 2025.
External partners are vital in the effort to bring gender parity to STEM. EY WiT collaborates with the UN program “EQUALS” in a shared mission to close the gender gap by 2030 by empowering women through their use of information and communication technologies.
EY WiT’s external collaborations extend to a variety of networks, for example, Women in Innovation, Women in Cloud and the WomenTech Network. Joint events and activities with these groups act as a multiplier to reach more people who are willing to make a difference.
Powerful learning programs for women and allies working in EY are educating EY WiT members in future-focused skills, such as AI or cloud.
For community building, EY WiT set up “Collaboration Circles,” where EY WiT members around the world have a chance to network and discuss topics close to their heart with likeminded professionals.
Using its global convening power in spaces where a global voice matters, EY WiT is supporting the next generation of talent and in collaboration with Technovation, an NGO encouraging girls to produce business proposals based on AI; over 1,000 EY professionals served as judges for these proposals, positively impacting over 6,500 Technovation Girls.
Lastly, shining a spotlight on women in technology, a regular webcast series features senior women tech, from companies, such as Microsoft, IBM, BP and HSBC, attracting thousands of viewers.
Summary
Today, science, technology, engineering and mathematics continue to produce, in rapid succession, developments that affect all aspects of our lives. Without gender parity in STEM, however, the thinking baked into these ubiquitous innovations derives predominantly from unchallenged monolithic perspectives. Why would we want creations we rely on to exclude the contributions of those who represent half of our planet? We wouldn’t, is the resounding answer from a growing global movement to increase the number of women in STEM roles.
The EY Global Women in Technology Program prizes innovation and believes in the transformational power of human potential. While we acknowledge that there is still much work to do, we continue to invest in women and the next generation of talent. As more women enter STEM fields and become leaders, more girls feel inspired and empowered to do the same.
With gender equity in STEM, unlocked opportunity extends far beyond the individuals whose lives are improved. Achieving parity will send ripples with benefits that grow exponentially.
