Mexican Women, the Web Developers of the Future: The AT&T Foundation and Laboratoria
The AT&T Foundation and Laboratoria unite to grow a new generation of web developers made up of 120 Mexican women from low income households.
MEXICO CITY, May 9, 2016 /3BL Media/ – The AT&T Foundation and Laboratoria Coding A.C., a social technology organization, is uniting to create the next generation of women web developers, through an educational program in which 120 young Mexican women will participate.
Laboratoria is a social project with presence in Mexico, Peru and Chile, dedicated to identifying talented women, who live in areas with limited opportunities, to coach them in web development, i.e., creating and managing internet and intranet sites.
The program includes a practical, accessible, comprehensive and job-oriented education model, in which women are trained for 5 months. Courses include:
- Front-end Web Development (HTML5 , CSS3 and JavaScript)
- Creation of products and web solutions,
- Leadership, empowerment and teamwork,
- Personal and professional development.
Once the women graduate, Laboratoria connects its students with companies, so that they can obtain jobs that promote their professional development and raise their employment prospects.
"At AT&T, we want to inspire and empower Mexican women to drive innovation. This program will give women new opportunities to acquire skills and to be integrated into the world of technology, bridging the digital divide," said Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Mexico.
Through a USD$75,000 grant, the AT&T Foundation will support Laboratoria Mexico during 2016 to grow of its educational program and to expand its model.
Gabriela Rocha, cofounder of Laboratoria Mexico, commented, "We are looking at providing professional development and increasing job prospects for women, by helping them to start a career in the digital sector that will enable them to improve their quality of life." She added: "The graduates will have the possibility of receiving a salary up to 2.5 times higher and increasing their employment opportunities by 70 percent."
Be part of Laboratoria’s third generation
Laboratoria has launched a call for submissions to form the third generation of coders starting classes in July 2016.
The selection process consists of three rounds:
In the first two rounds, the applicants must take logic reasoning and personal skills tests. The candidates with the best test results will be summoned for a day of interviews.
The requirements to apply are:
- Having an eagerness to learn and willingness to commit to intensive training;
- Being a woman and being between 18 and 35 years of age;
- Having completed high school;
- Availability to study between July and November 2016.
Interested candidates can register online at http://laboratoria.la/postula/mexico.
About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its community initiatives, AT&T has a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; or address community needs. AT&T Aspire is AT&T’s signature philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue including funding, technology, employee volunteerism, and mentoring. Through Aspire, we’ve passed the $250 million mark on our plan to invest $350 million in education from 2008-2017.
For more information, contact:
Adriana Hernández Calderón
Cell: 55-7052-7046
Email: adriana.hernandez.calderon@att.com
