SheTek.net Launches

 SheTek.net officially launched in New York City on September 13, 2018, with an event that celebrated the mission of the initiative—cultivating a qualified pipeline of women to meet the technology needs of companies.

SheTek is an initiative of PamTen, Inc. a certified Woman and Minority Owned Business. The SheTek initiative will build a pipeline of talented women in technology and provide women business owners with better access to technology solutions.

Guests at the event heard from Wendy Garcia, Chief Diversity Officer, Office of New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer.  Ms. Garcia talked about the importance of the SheTek initiative and the correlation between the Comptroller Office’s internal supplier diversity initiative including “Making the Grade: New York City Agency Report Card on Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises”. The report examines how well City agencies meet existing supplier diversity goals while outlining additional measures that could be taken to increase the participation of MWBEs in City contracting. Also present at the event were members of the SheTek Board of Advisors: Kristin Malek, Sr. Manager, Supplier Diversity of CDW and Maria Fiorini Ramirez, President & Chief Executive Officer of MFR.

Details of the SheTek initiative where provided by Chaya Pamula, CEO of SheTek and PamTen and Founder of SOFKIN and Joanna Black, CSO of SheTek, CEO of Curating Simplicity and SheWorks Collective.  The focus areas of SheTek include:

• Sparking early interest in technology for girls and mentoring them through the transition into college and into the workforce.
• Consulting companies on hiring women to fill more roles in technology.
• Training and coaching women employees within companies to help advance their tech-specific careers.
• Pairing talented women with companies who need technology services and staff.
• Supporting women-owned start-ups and businesses with outsourced CTO services with a team powered by talented women.
• Educating women business owners on how to use technology in their day-to-day business operations.
• Connecting and supporting women through the online SheTek Community Platform
• Mentoring and counseling women and girls to help them build soft skills and hard skills that will help advance their careers.
• Partnering with NGOs, academia, corporations, government, Chambers of Commerce, professional groups and other organization to advance women in technology.

Three core programs that support the SheTek focus where announced: SheTek STEM, SheTek Build and SheTek Power.

SheTek STEM is focused on introducing young minds to the opportunities that exist in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The SheTek STEM program focuses on mentorships, hands-on workshops, field trips, unforgettable experiences, and lasting friendships. SheTek STEM partners with community organizations and non-profits to develop and support programs that will have a lasting impact on the girls who participate.

SheTek Power is designed to further support young women navigating a career in tech and focused on female students attending college by providing them with additional support outside of classes, programs, and accelerators. Efforts are specifically tailored to empower young women through mentorships, soft skill training, community, internships and upon graduation access to jobs through the SheTek talent pipeline. A partnership with City College of New York Code was introduced where SheTek will operate as an extension of CCNY Code providing resources specific to the needs of the programs female students. 

SheTek Build provides training and education for women who are either re-entering the workplace, interested in learning marketable skills to help with career advancement or for entrepreneurs who wish to gain knowledge on leading technology trends.  The initial SheTek Build training series will focus on Cyber Security. 

SheTek core programs will be supported by contributions made from corporate partnerships. Financial resources will be allocated to the development of the programs with 10% of contributions donated to The SOFKIN Girls Education Fund, a 501C3 charity based in New Jersey and India.  Initial programming will commence in winter of 2018.  The SheTek.net Community Platform is currently active and those interested in learning more about SheTek or getting involved in the programs can register by visiting shetek.net.

About SheTek and PamTen:

SheTek is a program offered through PamTen Inc., a certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE). PamTen provides technology information services to a diverse set of clients, from small businesses to large corporations and has been ranked as an Inc. 5000 company, placing them among the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. Services include IT staffing, strategic advisory services, custom IT solutions, cybersecurity services, and product development.  With offices in USA, Canada, & India, PamTen provides solutions to companies in industries including Pharmaceuticals, Insurance, Healthcare, Financial, Retail, Energy, and more. Awards and recognition include Inc. 5000, NJBIZ Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies; NJ Best 50 Women in Business; Top 20 Most Promising Web Development and Design Solution Providers.

About SOFKIN:

SOFKIN is a non-profit organization registered in New Jersey, USA, and Hyderabad, India.  The organization supports the upbringing of underprivileged children, irrespective of name or nationality, caste or creed, race or religion, by providing basic amenities, education and medical aid in a secure and healthy environment.  SOFKIN is currently supporting over 90 children in five homes in Pune and Hyderabad, India. The children inducted into SOFKIN homes go to regular schools and have been performing well in both academics and extracurricular activities. PamTen has been sponsoring SOFKIN projects for over a decade by sponsoring education and providing internship and job opportunities to children of SOFKIN.

Share – But Not Too Much on Social Media

Social media has become THE place to share all the things that are going on in your life. But these social networking platforms can also pose a problem for your data security. We have a tendency to share Too Much Information (TMI), and that can put your cyber and personal safety at risk.

Have you ever posted or seen posts of friends away on vacation, or showing off their new super hi-tech entertainment system? Unless you are very tight with your security settings on your social media, people you don’t know at all can see those posts. When we share details of our lives, hackers and cybercriminals can use that information to gather even more specifics of your life. This could lead to identity theft, data theft, and personal physical harm.

Here are some of the top things you should NEVER share on Social Media.

1) Your Birthdate

It can be heartwarming to receive all of those lovely wishes of Happy Birthday in your feed. Think about all of the forms you’ve filled out where your birth date is required. Having your name and birthday gives criminals an important step in stealing your information.

2) Your Social Security Number

This is a key identifying factor of who you are. It’s used by banks, government forms, etc. Never even share the last 4 digits of the number. Cybercriminals have algorithms that can run through the combinations and come up with the code to steal your identity.

3) Your home phone number

Do you like getting spam and robocalls? Because they could certainly increase if you post your home phone number online. It’s fine to share it with friends, but not on the public space that is social media. Your business number is OK.

For your own personal safety, don’t list your full home address. Months later, when you post the pictures of you and your family at a national park on vacation, Social Media thieves can scroll through and find your address and break into your home. Or it could be used for other scams.

Some sites, like Facebook, do allow you to restrict some of this information, like birthdays. It’s wise to be wary and not take the risk if the site doesn’t have these options. Just don’t include the information. Ask the site to include this protection option in the next upgrade. If enough people ask, they may listen to the request.

Sharing news, pictures, and stories is one of the fun parts of the various social media platforms. Just don’t share TMI and you should be fine.