DETROIT ? The Michigan Council for Women in Technology on March 18 celebrated with a day of enrichment and giving back to women in technology. Female tech professionals gained insight from Quicken Loans CIO Ling Long in the morning, while hundreds of grade-school girls were inspired by the Internet of Things in the afternoon.

The Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation takes a holistic approach at how to achieve its aspirational goal of making Michigan the No. 1 state for women in technology. They offer a variety of events for women in all stages of life to be attracted to and retained in the technology industry.

MCWT held its CIO Breakfast that connected 130 IT leaders to the community in the morning and a tech workshop for nearly 500 grade school girls at a huge ?Girls are IT!? event in the afternoon. Both have now become annual events.

During the CIO Breakfast at Detroit?s Westin Book Cadillac, Quicken partnered with MCWT for a keynote of five ingredients for leadership and innovation. This was the fifth year Quicken has stepped up to support the community.

MCWT President Cindy Warner then discussed specific ways companies can get involved in programming that inspires and grows women in IT.

?As Michigan?s technology sector continues to grow, diversity provides an edge that helps fuel a company?s competitiveness and success,? said Warner. ?Our 64 partner companies see engagement with MCWT as one component to strengthen their business. They see the value of professional development, networking and volunteer opportunities for their staff.?

The hands-on ?Girls are IT!? event focused on building robots, learning about coding and hearing from successful female IT role-models about their careers in technology. Girls in grades 4 through 12 were exposed to some great content and interacted with dozens of women volunteers from participating local tech companies.

Participants weaved in-and-out of 15 workshops, including a Ford Motor Co.?s session on detecting cyber threats, Cisco?s Game Arcade, and Vector Form?s session on game development.

?We work to broadly reach young girls to get them to consider technology and deeply connect with women who choose the IT path,? said MCWT Executive Director Sarah Prout. ?From Girls are IT! to the CIO Breakfast, we?re creating a steady stream of women ready to enter the technology workforce and supporting them throughout their professional life.?

The event is a collaboration among the MCWT Foundation, University of Michigan-Dearborn, Lawrence Technological University, and University of Detroit Mercy.

?I wanted to come to Girls are IT because it seems like a fun experience and I can learn from it for the future,? said Starkia Drake, student at Brace Lederle Elementary Technological Communications School.

Find more information at www.mcwt.org and connect via LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and www.mcwtblog.org.

Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provides coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected] Follow Nicole on Twitter: @tech_nicole