Ivanka Trump has begun building a massive fund that will benefit female entrepreneurs around the globe. Both countries and companies will contribute to create a pool of capital to economically empower women.

"The statistics and results prove that when you invest in women and girls, it benefits both developed and developing economies," she said. "Women are an enormous untapped resource, critical to the growth of all countries."

Recently in Las Vegas the 13th Women in the Channel (WiC) Networking Event was held with a great reception by all. The WiC Networking Event helped to recognize female channel leaders in technology.

While we see signs of improvement, the facts are clear: women and particularly women of color are still struggling.

A few examples:

• Only 2.7% of venture money was invested in high growth businesses founded by women in 2016.
• Women of color received almost zero venture money (0.2%).
• Fewer than 5% of S&P 500 CEOs are women.

As a result of unfair practices inside some corporations, women leave technology jobs at twice the rate of men, costing their employers 200% of the costs of annual salaries to replace talent lost, according to some experts.

The 2017 Cisco Empowered Women’s Network (CEWN) event is on June 25 at Cisco Live in Las Vegas, Nevada. CEWN is a network of Cisco customers, partners, and employees joining together to make a difference for women in IT. This fifth annual event will feature keynotes, lightning talks and interactive sessions led by thought-leaders in IT/ICT.

This is probably one of the most valuable events at Cisco Live. It amazes me how they continue to relate to and motivate the female audience, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve always respected Cisco so much. Let’s all get together and advance the growth of Women in S.T.E.M. fields!

Jeff Seal

Managing Partner, Telecom Review North America