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Commonwealth Bank hosts Girls & Technology Expo to celebrate International Women’s Day

CBA's Girls and Technology Expo

10 March 2017

Boosting diversity in science, technology, engineering and maths, by introducing girls to what's possible.

To celebrate International Women's Day, this week the Commonwealth Bank hosted an interactive Technology Exhibition for female high school students in Years 7-10. 

As part of the Commonwealth Bank’s commitment to education and innovation, the bank is focussed on investing in areas that will prepare the workforce of the future. 

The exhibition showcased key IT products and innovations within technology and finance and offered an up-close look into some of the dynamic and rewarding career opportunities across science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). 

The students got the chance to hear from various technology leaders within CBA, and interact with emerging technologies like the Chip Candroid robot, Microsoft’s HoloLens, and virtual reality projects. 

The aim of the event was to encourage more young women to participate in STEM fields, break down gender myths, and offer career insights. 

“As one of the nation’s largest employers, we play a key role in driving the workforce of the future,” said David Whiteing, Chief Information Officer at Commonwealth Bank. 

“Jobs of the future will require high levels of STEM learning, so harnessing these skills are important if we want Australia to be competitive”. 

David also spoke to the students about following their passion. “What’s important, is finding something you’re passionate about, and then finding the courage to pursue it regardless of the status quo.” 

But, it wasn’t all about the students. While the students explored the bank’s emerging technology, parents also got up to speed on how to keep the family safe online, through CBA’s ThinkUKnow Cyber Security Education. 

Commonwealth Bank has made several contributions to developing skills required for the workforce of the future, through initiatives like the CommBank Cyber Prize, programs that aim to attract more women into the cyber security discipline (Access for Women), and the delivery of guest lectures at universities around Australia. 

“Our girls didn't stop talking about the expo the whole way back to school,” said Deborah Elliot Edwards, Community Engagement Officer at Fairfield High School.

After the success of Monday’s Girls & Technology Expo, the bank is looking forward to strengthening its STEM strategy in 2017, and hosting more events like this in the future.