TORONTO, ON Canada – October 10, 2018 – Toronto based STEM advocacy organization,hEr VOLUTION, is proud to announce Chandran Fernando, Managing Partner at Matrix360, as Keynote at the annual Canadian Women in STEM conference – Breaking Down Barriers: Unleashing the Power of Inclusion, held on October 13, 2018. Matrix360 is an advisory platform whose mission is to elevate a new tone for business with a global and inclusive mindset. Matrix360 is to build sustainable and successful organizations that foster inclusive workplaces where people embrace their differences: gender, ethnicity, race, orientation, age, abilities, education and all backgrounds.
We believe that the solid mission that Matrix360 has followed for numerous years, “To create accessibility to opportunities for all, and encourage open thought processes that effectively puts the heart back into business.”, is exactly what needs to be highlighted during this conference, hence why we are delighted to have Mr. Fernando as the keynote at the conference.
“People are the heart of every business and organization. It is imperative that business leaders recognize the importance of diversity in the workplace as a value-add for business and not just a checkbox-a feel-good gesture. Business leadership teams must reflect the communities it serves. We must systematically work together towards actionable solutions that not only provide access to opportunities but access to the leadership decision making tables and rooms. There must be a push for representation of all diverse people. It is time business leaders confront biases, prejudice and lack of awareness that impede fair representation in all platforms of leadership. We must use our voice, mind, and heart to elevate our presence in leadership within Canada. The time is now to embrace the human experience.” says Chandran Fernando, Managing Partner at Matrix 360.
In 1987, only 20 % of the people working in STEM fields were female, a number that has raised up to only 22 % to date. While there is a lot of buzz going on around this issue, not enough is being done to include men in the equation in order to change the number of women in STEM.
We recognize that Mr. Fernando strongly stands by Matrix360’s mission of the human connection through business. His passion to connect and build bridges with leaders and the greater community continues to leave a positive and inspirational impact for people to succeed. He is happy to share his knowledge and curious mind to find unique solutions to elevate the importance of the human connection in business.
“Our organization was created to make an impact and to advocate for gender diversity in STEM. As such, all of our programs have been designed to close the gender gap in STEM by breaking down barriers and to bring forward the diversity and inclusion of diverse population that is much needed in this sector. When it comes to having more men included, not much is being done, hence why we are extremely honoured to have Mr. Chandran Fernando, the Managing Partner at Matrix 360, keynote our conference this year. Mr. Fernando is a big supporter of our mission and he stands as a true ally to hEr VOLUTION and what we are trying to achieve here” says Doina Oncel, the Founder of hEr VOLUTION.
An organization like hEr VOLUTION exists to make sure that underserved youth, girls and young women from all walks of life are given opportunities as a way to their future career. Since 2013, the organization’s efforts have impacted over 3000 kids across GTA. The results of these outreach efforts have been extremely positive and so far, 61.7 % of participants have mentioned that these programs have helped them decide their education and career path. For the most part, we included men in facilitating programs and mentoring young women in our programs and we believe that that has been a great factor to our success.
hEr VOLUTION is looking forward to making further impact in STEM fields, particularly to promote STEM-related activities and career options to young women and girls from the underserved communities from Ontario.
About hEr VOLUTION
hEr VOLUTION is a not for profit organization providing innovative education and employment services to girls and young women in STEM. Our mission is to advance education by providing workshops and instructional seminars on topics relating to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for low income and marginalized youth with a focus on girls and young women.
For more information, visit https://www.hervolution.org
For interview requests for or quotes from hEr VOLUTION contact:
Doina Oncel
mediarelations@hervolution.org
www.hervolution.org
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