Even though Microsoft is a technology leader, everything they do comes down to people. That’s the underlying business reason why the company created a campaign to get more girls into STEM, and it’s also the ultimate reason the campaign became a reality: because our client partners at Microsoft were bold enough to break through internal barriers, and bring multiple internal silos together, to help us make it happen.

After all, they knew that Microsoft’s mission–to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more–depends on having the very best talent in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). And the external STEM talent pool is already coming up short: it is projected that 2.4 million STEM jobs will go unfilled by next year in the U.S. alone.

But together with our clients, we found that the challenge wasn’t a lack of interest in STEM – it was that half the population wasn’t following through on their interest. 7 out of 10 girls are interested in STEM, but only 2 in 10 go on to pursue it. Why? Our culture tells girls it’s “not for them.” A key example of this: there simply aren’t enough known female role models in STEM that girls can relate to. And girls can’t follow in the footsteps of women they don’t see.

We worked together to uncover powerful female STEM role models for our #MakeWhatsNext campaign–and also to find and nurture new ones through the inaugural #MakeWhatsNext Patent Program. This was a true collaborative effort that brought together the heads of multiple internal Microsoft STEM programs, while smashing through walls between multiple departments, ranging from Patent Law to Philanthropy to Creative Technology. The ongoing effort helps budding female inventors develop their ideas and file for a patent–so they can #MakeWhatsNext and help inspire their younger followers to do the same.

We were even able to expand our global scope from 38 countries to 90 countries. Millions of girls interacted with the campaign, resulting in unprecedented demand for Microsoft’s own STEM education initiatives–which our clients then helped us meet head on by rallying to cobble resources, commitment, and expertise across the globe to create more events that directly connected thousands of girls with Microsoft employees and hands-on STEM learning opportunities.

With 4,765 additional girls across the globe directly participating in Microsoft STEM initiatives in 2016, the campaign helped deepen the future talent pool. And 4,765 more girls interested in STEM means 4,765 potential breakthroughs. Breakthroughs that will be driven by the dreams, passion, and ideas of talented, empowered girls who are now connected directly to Microsoft and are on their way to #MakeWhatsNext.