Who’s Your Favorite Leading Lady in Technology? Entertainment Industries Council, NCWIT and Google Want to Know!
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 19, 2014 -- The Entertainment Industries Council (EIC), NCWIT and Google are accepting nominations for the SET Award for Portrayal of a Female in Technology. The special SET Award honoring Science, Engineering and Technology portrayals in entertainment and media, was launched by EIC, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and Google to honor a female character, and those involved in bringing her to life, that goes above and beyond to be inspiring and encouraging to break down stereotypes and elevate the conversation around female ingenuity in technology fields.
“We believe that the people creating new technologies should be representative of the people of all backgrounds and genders who use them,” said Mo Fong, Director for K-12 Education Outreach at Google. “We also know that when it comes to encouraging girls and women to pursue careers in computer science and other technical fields, positive role models matter, which makes the work of the entertainment industry--and this new award--so powerful.”
“When Pauley Perrette launched the Ready on the SET and Action! campaign with EIC nearly five years ago, her character of Abby Sciuto on CBS’ NCIS was among the first roles to regularly feature a female technologist. Today, Abby exists among a plethora of characters, on shows from FOX’s Bones to ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., who inspire and excite young women about these careers, elevating the role of influential female technologists. That’s ‘The Art of Making a Difference,’ ” said Brian Dyak, President and CEO of EIC.
“By perpetuating masculine and ‘geeky’ stereotypes, pop culture can be defined as a barrier for young women’s participation in computing. Given the impact gender diversity makes on business performance and innovation, this must change,” said Lucy Sanders, CEO and Co-founder of NCWIT. “This award will recognize how positive media portrayals can alter misperceptions of ‘who’ creates technology and generate awareness about computing careers and opportunities.”
Nominations are being accepted now at http://g.co/GoogleSETAward. The deadline for nominations is January 18, 2015. The submissions will be reviewed by EIC and Google who will then select the top ten candidates as finalists to be honored with the award. Voting will be held online in Spring 2015, and the winner will be announced at the 2015 NCWIT Summit for Women and IT on May 19-21 in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
About Google Inc.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.
About Entertainment Industries Council
EIC is a non-profit organization founded in 1983 by leaders within the entertainment industry to bring the power and influence of the industry to communicate about health and social issues. The organization is considered to be the chief pioneer of entertainment and journalism outreach and a premiere success story in the field of entertainment education. This mission relies on providing resource information to the creative community and culminates in recognition of the industry through the national television special PRISM Showcase which addresses accurate portrayals of substance use issues and mental health concerns. The organization also produces the SET Awards, honoring positive and non-stereotypical portrayals of science, engineering and technology. For a complete list of health and social issues addressed by EIC and local projects please visit First Draft and EIC’s website at http://www.eiconline.org or the internet television network at EICnetwork.tv. The PRISM Awards web site is http://www.prismawards.com. The SET Awards web site is http://www.eicsetawards.com
About NCWIT
The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a non-profit community of more than 575 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase women’s participation in computing and technology. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K–12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more at http://www.ncwit.org.
Media Contact:
Larry Deutchman, 310-967-3410, ldeutch(at)eiconline(dot)org
Skylar Jackson, 703-481-1414, sjackson(at)eiconline(dot)org
Meghan Casserly, 650-214-0531 meghancasserly(at)google(dot)com
Adriane Bradberry, 303-492-5213, adriane(at)ncwit(dot)org
Skylar Jackson, Entertainment Industries Council, http://www.eiconline.org, +1 703-481-1414, [email protected]
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