Markforged Distinguished Women Engineers Grant

From robotics to material science, some of the most exciting, world-changing innovation and economic opportunity today is happening at the cutting edge of engineering fields.

Unfortunately, while breakthroughs in technology ought to serve everyone equally, the teams and individuals driving innovation in engineering fields are not typically reflective of our population.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that women will hold just 20% of computing jobs by 2025, a gap that has gotten worse in the last 30 years.

In robotics and 3D printing, where our Markforged team is at the forefront of the digital manufacturing revolution, the lack of gender diversity is just as prevalent.

We see this as not just an opportunity problem, but also as an impact problem. Technology itself suffers from the lack of diversity, as evidenced by problems like AI programs exhibiting racial and gender biases.

Diverse teams are more innovative and show better financial results than those that aren’t, and it is in all of our best interests to ensure equality of opportunity and strong diversity in engineering fields.

As one part of this, the Markforged team has come together to create this grant for women in engineering fields at leading technical universities.

The grant will be awarded to a woman studying any engineering field at a top-tier technical undergraduate or graduate university program in the US.

Additionally, applicants to this grant will be considered for current and future internships and job opportunities at Markforged as part of an innovative, industry-leading team that is transforming manufacturing.

While applicants from any engineering field are welcome, candidates who have demonstrated excellence in cloud computing, material science, industrial design, 3D printing, manufacturing, etc. will be given preference.