Microsoft Corp. today announced a $1 million grant and a four-year commitment to the National Center for Women and Information Technology (NCWIT) to encourage women to pursue careers in IT. The announcement was made at today’s Future Potential in IT seminar held at Seattle University. The series is a national program, co-founded by Microsoft and the Society for Information Management, designed to encourage young people to consider a career in information technology or a related field.

“We are delighted with this gift and this alliance,” said Bradley Feld, NCWIT board chairman and managing director of Mobius Venture Capital Inc. “We believe that only by working together with corporations such as Microsoft will we be able to address the need for a greater diversity in the sciences.”

Microsoft’s support of NCWIT reinforces the company’s commitment to address critical shortages of females in the talent pipeline, from getting young girls interested in science and technology through advanced education in computer science, computer engineering and related disciplines. In this global economy, a diverse workforce spurs innovation and is a key driver for U.S. competitiveness. NCWIT’s unique value proposition is to bring together the many disparate organizations, from government agencies to universities to industry members, that are trying to impact positive change. Through this collaboration, Microsoft and NCWIT are driving the effort to raise awareness of today’s changing workforce and the positive impact that women in IT have on the industry specifically and the U.S. economy overall.