If you want the cream of the crop, you can’t ignore half the harvest.

And businesses struggling to fill high-tech positions can’t afford to overlook statistics showing bright young women are not moving into IT careers at the same rate as men.

The solution? Cultivate the minds of young women early on, plant the idea that girls and computers can go together, nurture them through mentoring programs or classroom seminars — and then watch your company grow.

It’s a recipe for success being sowed in Calgary by IBM, which is in the first year of an program to introduce girls in Grades 6 to 8 to the world of information technology.

“If you don’t actually start talking to the girls before they make their decisions about math and sciences in high school, they can limit their career opportunities by the choice of their courses,” says Cheryl Bermack, western regional manager for IBM’s personal systems group in Calgary.

Bermack is also the local co-ordinator for Women In Technology (WIT) — an in-house IBM program which recruits female employees to head out into Calgary classrooms to talk about the joys of computer and technology careers.

Statistics show women make up only 15 to 20 per cent of computer science students at Canadian universities.

“We’re a high-tech company and our business is about the knowledge worker,” Bermack says. “From our viewpoint, if you’re only drawing on 50 per cent of the available population, you’re not necessarily drawing on the broadest skill sets . . . you might not be getting the best.”

The 30 IBM “facilitators” run half-day workshops with elementary and junior high kids in public, separate and private schools.

The facilitators talk with the girls about their views on technology, and discuss why it’s important to keep their career options open.

The students are split into teams to design Web pages using IBM Thinkpads, and then each team gets a chance to present its work.

By the end of the workshop, Bermack says, girls are thinking about using the Web for animation, web design, programming, analytics and the sales process. But IBM isn’t trying to push their corporate presence into the classroom, Bermack says.

“The schools have asked us why we’re doing this, they think there’s a catch,” she says. “But we’re not out there with IBM banners or anything, and that sometimes catches them off guard. We’re role models, we tell them about our job, but we’re really here to give them some experience.”

“We’re trying to reach into the school, deliver a message and encourage the girls to at least give some consideration to their decision about their future education, and to help them see that it’s fun.”

The idea has caught the attention of Keith Wyenberg, the technology co-ordinator at Calgary Christian School.

“The more we can expose women to the opportunities to IT, the more we should take advantage of these things,” says Wyenberg, who runs the school’s computer programs.

An IBM employee will be speaking to a class of Grade 8 girls at the school next week, he notes. “If it works out well, I’m hoping to do it on a regular basis if IBM continues to offer it.”

Wyenberg is also taking four Grade 9 girls to the Explore IT conference on Nov. 14. IBM is a sponsor of the annual conference, organized by the University of Calgary and SAIT, which introduces Grade 9 girls to IT programs by bringing them to their campuses for a fun day of learning.

The IBM seminar also has some fans at Langevin Elementary/Junior high in the public school system. Teacher Jody Terris says the seminar held by Bermack “broke barriers” for the 15 girls in Grades 6 to 8, who previously thought they’d have to be computer experts or extreme risk-takers to learn something like Web page development.

Terris adds that when she started teaching at the school six years ago, it was rare to see a girl using the computer lab.

“They told me they felt uncomfortable with the boys, because the boys would be pushy, shoving them out of the way and telling them they didn’t know what they were doing,” she recalls.

“So I opened up Wednesday as girls’ day and now I consistently have a full room.”

Bermack says IBM’s in-school program is evolving to include an e-mentoring aspect, where students will be electronically teamed up with employees to answer questions and provide advice. E-mentoring is now being piloted by IBM into Toronto-area schools and is expected to be rolled out in Calgary in the next 12 to 18 months.

“There’s lot of ideas we have about how we can expand,” she adds. “Our goal is to participate in the community, and also give back to the community.”