In honor of International Women’s Day, HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated (NYSE:HAR), the premier connected technologies company for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today announced a partnership with the 1,000 Dreams Fund, a national scholarship program for American girls aspiring to live their dreams. Together, the partners have launched an online campaign challenge called the “#NewFaceofTech,” seeking to spotlight and financially support the new face of tech to support promising young women pursuing big dreams in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Careers in tech are among the fastest-growing professional occupations in the U.S., with a projected growth rate of more than 9 million jobs between 2012 and 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yet women remain underrepresented in this sector. In fact, according to a Reuters study, more than a quarter of technology executives stated they have no women in leadership positions at their organizations.

Starting today, young female STEM leaders are invited to show how they are the #NewFaceofTech by snapping a photo and sharing what they hope to achieve in STEM. HARMAN and 1,000 Dreams Fund will provide two high potential women with financial grants to pursue their goals. The two winners and an additional eight finalists also will receive premium JBL headphones.

“At HARMAN, our best innovations are a direct result of the range of ideas that come from our diverse workforce,” said Christi Downes, Vice President, Global Talent Management, Diversity and Corporate HR, HARMAN. “We’re excited for the opportunity to help young women reach their dreams and we’re grateful to 1,000 Dreams Fund for helping us connect with the next generation of female leaders in STEM.””

“In addition to HARMAN’s proven track record in the competitive technology industry, they have an impressive number of female executives,” said Christie Garton, founder and CEO of 1,000 Dreams Fund. “Our mission at the 1,000 Dreams Fund is to provide young women with access and opportunity to any goal or dream they have. Technology, specifically, continues to be an industry where women leaders are shockingly absent. By joining forces with HARMAN, we hope to encourage any young woman interested in technology to pursue her big dreams to the fullest.”

The #NewFaceofTech Challenge launched today with the photo submission period running through April 4, 2017. Ten finalists will be chosen by 1,000 Dream Fund and announced on April 5, kicking off a week-long public vote. The two, top vote-receiving finalists will be selected as our winners and announced by April 13, 2017.

HOW TO ENTER

Visit: 1000dreamsfund.org/newfaceoftech

Step 1: UPLOAD YOUR PHOTO!
Through custom entry online form that lives on a 1,000 Dreams Fund’s campaign page, applicants upload their favorite photo, selfie, etc. To complete the entry, entrants must provide more info on backend what they are doing to reach their career dreams in tech.

Step 2: CUSTOMIZE YOUR PHOTO WITH TEXT THAT EXPLAINS HOW YOU ARE THE NEW FACE OF TECH
All entrants, once approved, get featured on the #NewFaceofTech landing page.

Step 3: SHARE WITH FRIENDS!

About 1,000 Dreams Fund

The 1,000 Dreams Fund (1DF) is a national scholarship fund for American girls in high school and college. The 1DF believes that big expenses should never stand in the way of big dreams. Since its launch in 2015, over $50,000 in funding has been granted to talented young women in need, helping them pay for the “extras” in school like study abroad, tech devices for the classroom and travel to conferences and seminars. 1DF has been featured in NBCNews.com, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, Entrepreneur, TODAY, etc. To learn more about their work, visit http://1000dreamsfund.org/.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions; and connected services. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. The Company’s software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 30,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $7.2 billion during the last 12 months ended December 31, 2016. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

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