YPSILANTI – For every 100 jobs in science, technology, engineering and math, only 12 of those are filled by women, which is why a special conference at Eastern Michigan University, called Digital Divas, was created.
"A lot of girls in middle school and high school fall away from technology because of the stereotypes of being a geek and they kind of walk away," Anna Wendt, a junior at EMU, said. "This gives them an opportunity to work with other girls interested in the same field."
Digital Divas is one-day conference for middle and high school girls. It's the fifth year it's been held on EMU's campus.
"When they see 500 other girls interested in the same things they are, it gives them permission and allows them to get excited," Susan Gregory, co-chair of the conference, said.
Throughout the day, female leaders in various fields speak to the girls. Plus, there are 25 hands-on workshops to choose from like: DIY computers, or concepts of electricity. The idea is to support girls to go into the STEM fields and to grow future female leaders.
"I think it's really cool," Jenna Yerbou, a seventh grader from Warren, said. "I just came back from ‘Design Your Own App' workshop and we designed our own applications."
Wendt is a former attendee of the conference, now she's teaching one of the workshops.
"[I remember] speaking with women in the industry and it really got me going on this career path because I saw where they could go and what jobs they were doing," she said.
This year, 550 girls attended the event. Due to its popularity, organizers are looking into having two conferences next year.