SPEAKER 1: Nobody ever told me or encouraged me to go into technology. SPEAKER 2: Even my dad sometimes, he's like, "it's not a job for a woman." SPEAKER 3: That's why I didn't want to take that leap of faith and try to go to that field. JUDITH SPITZ: There is a gender equity challenge that we have in tech. Every company understands if they look at their own summer internship pool that they're not getting the diversity that they need. The City University of New York is the largest and most diverse public education institution in the country. You're talking about thousands and thousands of young women. Less than 5% of them were landing jobs. When we talked to the companies, we basically heard the same thing which is: "They don't have anything on their resumes." And so we asked ourselves: "How do we fix this problem? How do we open a new door of opportunity for them?" And that's what the Winternship does. A Winternship is a paid mini-internship in the month of January targeted at freshman and sophomore women in order to get them prepared to be more competitive when it comes time to apply for a full summer tech internship. JOSHUA NESS: Verizon was excited to get involved with the WiTNY Winternship program. We have found over the past several years that the Winterns who come through this program are the people who are going to completely set a new course for how your company can be successful in the future. CORINNE GOSDALL: One of the things that is a benefit for us as a museum and participating is the chance to develop relationships with future professionals, and these women are already professionals - I think that they're doing a remarkable job. BRANDON DANIELS: When our opportunity to engage with the Winternship program came up, there was not a single moment of hesitation. Without the contribution of women, there isn't going to be the diversity of talent to ensure that our technology is meeting the market need. It is a huge momentum driver for our organization. EMILY FINK: The moment the five interns walked through our doors, I was blown away. And we all benefited from their energy in being here. SPITZ: Winternships are transformational - and they're transformational both for the students and for the companies who get exposed to these young women. ELLIE KIM: WiTNY is definitely a great stepping stone into a career in tech because it really empowers you and it's a great community of support. TAJA JAFARLI: I'm ready to get something more technical in the future and be ready for it. BANNYA DASRAO: This internship was amazing, life-changing, and I would do it all over again. FINK: Absolutely, without a doubt, I would recommend other companies participate.