#Recap #VMInclusion #Benelux #hosted #Girls #Day
In The Netherlands we celebrate Girls’ Day on a yearly basis. It is a national event and initiative of the VHTO to enthuse young girls about science, technology and IT. During Girls’ Day, beta, technical and IT companies open their doors to girls aged 10 to 15 throughout the Netherlands. The girls can take part in interesting activities, meet female employees (rolemodels) and learn more about STEM activities. The aim of Girls’ Day is to make them enthusiastic about science, technology and IT. Unfortunately, the number of girls and women opting for a profession in science, technology and IT has been low for years, only 14 percent of technical professionals in the Netherlands are women. On the other hand, science, technology and IT are more important than ever for society. That’s why Girls’ Day exists.
On April 7th 2022 the VMware office in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, opened its doors for the Zaanlands Lyceum, which is a secondary school where 21 young schoolgirls where given the opportunity to visit VMware and learn more about the cool things we do. After everyone was settled in the Townhall area of our office, Erik de Geus our Regional Senior Director for the Benelux, made a guest appearance and gave everyone a very warm welcome before we’ve started with the fully packed agenda. The girls where very impressed to meet our Senior Director, Wow! Ramona Pilotto was the host for the day and provided the girls with security requirements and office rules-of-engagement.
The first topic on the agenda of Girls’ Day was the introduction of VMware by Jennifer van der Boon, Lead Solution Consultant in The Netherlands. She was able to explain to the girls what virtualization is all about and what VMware stands for, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. After a quick break- with some lovely little VMware branded cupcakes- we had a panel interview with VMware female role models from both Belgium and The Netherlands: Customer Success by Ramona PIlotto, Solution Engineering by Myrtha Davina and Technical Account Management by Gemma van der Voorst. We’ve also had our SE Graduate Academy covered by Leontine van Gerven.The girls were able to ask questions about the careers of the role models, their personal approach and their daily lives in and around their jobs to get inspired.
After lunch, it was time for the hands-on activity! Led by our hands-on labs guru Rob Groenhuis together with Gemma, the girls were taken through the Virtualization 101 labs on their own laptops. Followed by a Kahoot quiz at the end of the day, with questions about VMware and technology and there was a price to win! The day flew by but the girls didn’t leave VMware empty handed; there was a VMware branded goodie back pack filled with VMware goodies for every girl to take home.
The overall feedback from both the girls and the teachers was enormously positive! The hands-on labs were a great success, the girls loved the office and the spirit it breathes. This year we will again participate in the Girls’ Day on March 30, 2023. We hope we can repeat the success of last year!
