Big Four firm Deloitte has announced a collaboration with girls education advocacy group The Ella Project on a comic book series focused on encouraging more young people to consider STEM-centered careers.
The comic book series features protagonist Ella the Engineer solving various problems using her STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skill set with the help of various Deloitte leaders, including Deloitte Consulting chairman and CEO Janet Foutty and chief innovation officer Nishita Henry. The series will feature four comic books and a graphic novel, which will be distributed to schools and educational groups across the country.
"Deloitte is committed to creating opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities to enter into productive careers in STEM and STEM adjacent fields – and it starts with early education," stated Foutty. "We are thrilled to team with The Ella Project to advance the possibilities for young women's futures, showing how adventurous and meaningful a career in STEM can be – and have a little fun along the way."
The inaugural issue features Foutty encouraging Ella to use analytics to find her stolen class pet. Subsequent issues will feature other Deloitte leaders including Catherine Bannister, managing director of Deloitte Consulting and chief talent officer of technology, and Kelly Herod, principal at Deloitte Consulting.
The comic book series comes at a time when STEM skills are much sought-after, especially among young women. A recent study by Deloitte and the National Association of Manufacturing found that more than 3 million STEM-related jobs will be needed by 2025, with more than 2 million of these jobs going unfilled due to a lack of properly trained candidates.
"We are thrilled to have the support of Deloitte for The Ella Project," said Ella Project founder Anthony Onesto in a statement. "This collaboration allows us the opportunity to highlight real life female role models in STEM, as their stories are woven into edutainment we know to be invaluable to our future leaders. Ella, our tech-savvy hero, is someone who young kids, girls and boys alike, can relate to and encourages the importance of critical-thinking throughout her exciting adventures."
To read the first issue, head to The Ella Project's
