Ranken Technical College and STL Nerdy Girls Work Together to Empower St. Louis Women

ST. LOUIS, MO, February 27, 2014 (Press-News.org) On February 19, female students from Ranken Technical College, members of the Meetup.com group The Nerdy Girls Society, representatives from the Association of Women in Science, the Arch Rival Roller Girls and women from the St. Louis community came together to network and to take part in a free Livestream of the Take The Lead Challenge Launch Event. This webinar was designed to inspire and propel women to step into their own power to close pay and leadership gaps, and included advice and ideas from some of the world's top business leaders.

Today, women make up half the workforce but still earn just 77 cents to every men's dollar. Women also hold just 18 percent of top leadership positions. The reasons behind this leadership inequality have been researched in depth but resolutions are rarely offered. Take The Lead shifts the focus from problems to solutions, calling women, men, and organizations to action and giving women the tools they need to succeed in work, civic leadership, and personal life. This new organization develops, inspires and propels women to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors by 2025. It's today's women's movement -- a unique catalyst for women to embrace power and reach leadership parity.

From trailblazing businesswomen to a discussion by top journalists about women in the media, the evening featured some of today's most dynamic and inspiring speakers, including Facebook COO and Lean In author Sheryl Sandberg, Take The Lead Co-founder and President Gloria Feldt and Vice Chairman and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Carla Harris. MSNBC's Karen Finney also moderated a powerhouse women's media panel, cohosted with the Women's Media Center.

About Ranken Technical College
With its main campus located in St. Louis, Missouri, Ranken Technical College is a private, non-profit institution of higher education. Rich with history, Ranken has provided students with top quality educational programs for more than 100 years. Ranken Technical College's primary mission is to provide the comprehensive education and training necessary to prepare students for employment and advancement in a variety of technical fields. Throughout its long history as a St. Louis College and trade school, Ranken has been an excellent training and educational center for professionals looking to start or advance in their careers. Ranken Technical College's success in job placement is well-documented, with traditionally 96-98 percent of Ranken graduates finding gainful employment in their chosen field within six months of graduation. For more information about Ranken Technical College, please visit http://www.ranken.edu.

About The Nerdy Girls Society - St. Louis Chapter
The purpose of STL Nerdy Girls is to foster continuous learning for women of all ages interested in things typically described as "nerdy." We're unironically enthusiastic about stuff - ranging from science to history, comic cons to lectures, and everything in between.