It's 2025 and we're ready to close the technology skills gap and support women in tech! According to a report from the (US) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, women comprise only 35% of STEM professionals. 

In this episode, we chat with two amazing women in technology: Ashlyn Dumaw and Ashley Masters. Ashlyn is a senior at Cornell University studying chemical engineering with a concentration in fiber science. She's passionate about the intersection of STEM and design, or the combination of technicality and creativity. Following her graduation in May, she will be working as a Management Consultant with Qral Group, guiding pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies through their product life cycle and business challenges. 

Ashley has worked at Microsoft for nearly five years and is currently focused on driving Copilot Adoption for Business Users by meeting them where they are, on Instagram & LinkedIn. She completed her MBA in Finance from WSU in 2023 and her undergraduate degree in Finance & Economics in 2020 from CWU.  

Ashlyn and Ashley discuss how they decided to pursue technological careers, and career tips they have for their fellow female techies and their educators. Plus, they share their experiences with Microsoft Office Specialist certification and how getting certified prepared them for educational and career opportunities they never thought possible. 

This episode was pulled from a recent CERTIFIED Academy webinar. Join us for future CERTIFIED Academy sessions: https://certiport.pearsonvue.com/Blog/2025/January/Join-us-for-CERTIFIED-Academy-2025. 

Connect with other tech educators in our CERTIFIED Educator Community here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8958289/. 

Don't miss your chance to register for our annual CERTIFIED Educator's Conference here: https://certified.certiport.com/.