The world of ICT is heavily male dominated and more often than not, women are found doing low level, low-skilled jobs in the field.
It has been predicted that by 2020, there will be the creation of about 1.4 million I.T jobs in the United States and around the same time, Canada is expected to create 218,000 computer related jobs, at the very least.
While this is good news, it becomes uncomfortable when one realises that the number of young women and girls in tech is low. With so many job opportunities in tech, the International Girls in ICT Day, an initiative by the International Telecommunications Union, was born to educate, encourage and empower girls and young women to consider careers in the expanding fields of STEM and I.T.
To celebrate this day, Pearls Africa and GirlsCoding will be hosting an event tagged: Bridges and Walls in STEM.
This is an opportunity to sit with leaders and Mentors in the field of technology to discuss, challenges and break down the barriers holding girls back from great opportunities in STEM.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE:-
• Abisoye Ajayi – Akinfolarin
Co-Founder and CEO of Pearls Africa Foundation through which she runs GirlsCoding, a program dedicated to equipping young girls from under-served communities with computer programming skills, with mentoring and internship opportunities.
• Nnena Nwakanma
Senior Policy Manager for the World Wide Web Foundation where she supports work on the Alliance for Affordable Internet and the Web We Want.
• Eleanor Sarpong
Eleanor is passionate about connectivity, gender/development, and advocates for universal broadband access and digital content aimed particularly at advancing women in developing regions.
• Damilola Solesi
Founder, CEO and creative director of SMIDS Animation Studios.
• Tosin Ajibade
Founder/CEO Olorisupergal, known for her lifestyle and entertainment website, OloriSuperGal.com and has used her blog to call attention to societal issues especially as it affects women and girls.
• Simi Olusola
CEO of Aspilos Foundation, a not-for-profit organization under whose umbrella the AboCoders project among other initiatives is run.
• Eyitayo Alimi
Founder of Techy Girls and Virtual Reality Nigeria. She is also a New Media Strategist, Developer and curator.
