Nairobits, a Trust that seeks to positively change the lives of vulnerable youth by improving their ability to contribute to their socio-economic well-being through ICT recently hosted the Girls in Tech Forum under the theme Celebrating Girls: Inspiring Change.
The forum discussed issues surrounding why the girl child, especially those from informal settlements are not taking up training and careers in ICT.
Mariam Abdullahi- Africa Industry Lead, Telcos, at SAP Africa who was amongst the panelists noted that there is a general perception amongst young girls that ICT is only for men.
“There is the perception that ICT is a difficult field for girls. This has made it difficult for schools to attract and retain female students and this translates to fewer women working in the ICT industry,” she said.
Executive Director for Nairobits Magdalene Wanjugu further added that it was important for both government and private sector organizations to have women in leadership roles for young girls to aspire to take up careers seen as just for men.
The event also marks two years since the Trust launched the SisTech project with support from the Malala Fund, by opening three girls only ICT training Centre’s in Nairobi. To date, 300 girls have benefited from the initiative with more than 60 percent having successfully transitioned to employment.
Also in attendance was ICT Authority CEO, Robert Mugo who reaffirmed the government’s commitment towards enhancing ICT skills to young girls. He noted that the digital literacy program as one of the initiatives the government has put in place to enhance tech skills on young girls.
“Girls need to have tech skills to excel today where more than 95 percent of jobs have a digital element,” he explained.
The event also marks two years since the Trust launched the SisTech project with support from the Malala Fund, by opening three girls only ICT training Centre’s in Nairobi. To date, 300 girls have benefited from the initiative with more than 60 percent having successfully transitioned to employment.
Evelyne Osiwa, coordinator Safaricom’s Women in Tech initiative enforced the importance of mentorship for young girls in order for them not to shy away from technology.
Female role models exert strong influence on girls making decisions about further studies or careers.” She adds that Safaricom’s Women In Tech, aspires to bridge the gap through a “see-and-believe” program dubbed 47/47 aimed at reaching out to at least 47 girls’ high schools in every county in one year.”
