DigitALL: Young women leading the tech drive
This year, the focus of International Women’s Day (IWD), which falls on Wednesday, March 8, is to encourage women’s involvement in digital space and technology.
On the theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality", the day will also recognise and celebrate women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.
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Ahead of the day, The Mirror spoke with three young Ghanaian women who are leading different causes to break the digital gap. Read on:
Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, Founder Divaloper
Divaloper is a social enterprise founded by Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah to get more African ladies to venture into technology careers to stir innovation, while empowering them economically.
Since its inception, more than 1000 women across Africa, especially those in Ghana have benefited from different events held both in person and online.
The series of trainings include coding, web development and digital marketing, as well as trainings on leadership and career development through the Divaloper community fireside chats.
Her passion for technology, she told The Mirror, dated back to her early days. “I had the privilege to always work on a personal computer (PC) or laptop because my parents run an internet Café. After I wrote my BECE, I attended NIIT to study as a PC technician. At that time, I was thinking of how I could help run the café with my expertise, little did I know I could grow a budding career out of it,” she told The Mirror in an interview.
When she completed her first degree in Computing with Accounting at the University for Development Studies and starting a career in technology, she realised although the opportunities were many, there were few women in the field.
She saw an opportunity to be one of the few who would advocate and inspire more ladies to take up tech careers and that birthed Developer in 2019.
Ms Addullah is an experienced speaker on various topics including women empowerment, digital transformation, future of work etc. She is currently the producer and a host of a Television show - TechTV Ghana which is aimed at highlighting thrilling personalities, ground breaking innovations and tech reviews in Ghana.
Ms Abdullah assisting participants at a coding event organised by Divaloper
Ms Abdullah believes each individual, especially women should have access to tools and opportunities to help them in their careers and businesses. She is committed to helping in that revolution using technology in one community at a time.
“Dear young woman reading this, on days like this when the world is celebrating us, it is important to reflect on what makes us women and why a day like this has been set aside to celebrate our accomplishments and achievements.
One of my favourite quotes by Charles Malik reads, “the fastest way to change society is to mobilise the women if the world ”. As young women in this century, we have many opportunities and it is important we explore them. It is time for us to take spaces up with leadership, economic empowerment, education and building technological skills to help make our country a better place and the universe in a whole. Happy International Women’s Day in advance and never doubt your authenticity and ambitions,” she noted.
Belinda Darkwa, National Lead and Coordinator, Ghana Ladies in Tech
The Ghana Ladies in Tech Initiative (GLiT), seeks to create a community of tech-savvy ladies. Members are engaged in different activities that will transform, enhance and enrich their entrepreneurial journeys and transform their businesses into competitive enterprises across the globe.
The community is an initiative of Ghana Tech Lab, an open collaborative Space for digital skills training, seeding innovations and growing start-ups.
Ms Belinda Darkwa, who is also in charge of Community and Partnerships at Ghana Tech Lab, said the GLiT was started to help women and girls bridge the digital gap, while giving them the opportunity
“Usually, after training at the Ghana Tech Lab, we do follow ups to see how participants are faring. We realised that most of the ladies were not applying their skills in their careers and businesses. We ,therefore, decided to find ways to further engage and support them,”
In addition to the training, the community offers counselling and mentorship sessions.
Ms Darkwa said aside financial constraints, one of their challenges in the beginning was extending the community to ladies in other parts of the country. That challenge, she explained, was resolved when they partnered some hubs out of Accra for training and mentorship events.
Today, the community is made up of over 808 members who are either working in technology related fields or are applying technology in their work.
The community, she explained, understood the challenges women faced in society and ,therefore, tailored the trainings and support to meet these needs.
“There are women with babies who wish to be part of the sessions but can’t afford the fees nannies usually charge. For such women, we gift financial assistance so they can easily participate. The traditional role women play as mothers, wives or primary care givers makes it difficult for them to take up certain roles and opportunities, we are using this community to help them navigate their journeys,” she explained.
Ms Darkwa said although she studied Sociology at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, which is not tech related, she took advantage of some training programmes that ignited her interest in technology and start-ups.
She said in her university days, she sold items to ladies on credit as a way of supporting them while earning an income. Once she was introduced to the technology and start up ecosystem in Ghana, she felt it was perfect to combine her passion for supporting women and interest in technology.
Ms Akua Essah, Founder, Child-In-Tech
Ms Akua Essah is an 18-year-old level 200 student of the Ghana Communication University College (GCUC) who is studying for a Bachelor of science in Computer Science.
She leads Child-In-Tech, an organisation that focuses on teaching children how to use current technology and gives them the confidence to master new and emerging tools.
Ms Essah’s project is quiet new, but within a short period, she led her team to take initiatives that have seen them engage and collaborate with different stakeholders on different subjects aimed at bridging the digital gap.
“At Child-In-Tech, we train children on Financial Technology, AI, Cloud computing, Cyber security, programming, E-waste and 5G.
Today, technology has become a major part of the everyday life of an individual. A person who is well conversant and up-to-date with what’s new in the tech world has an array of opportunities.The situation is not different with children. Children who are tech savvy find it easier to compete in the technical arena. Technology for children has become the order of the day if you want to have a booming future for them.” she told this reporter.
The first Child-In-Tech Conference on Financial Technology (fintech),which was held at the Blue Crest University College in January, saw about 150 students from different schools participating.
Aside the main conference which had different speakers tackling key subjects under technology and fintech, there was a breakout session which gave students the opportunity to interact with trained volunteers.
The second Child-In-Tech outreach event was held at the Ideel Community School for upper primary pupils to celebrate the Chocolate day. Dubbed “Chocolate-With-Tech”, participants were educated on basic facts about financial technology, opportunities and the challenges it presented.
It is Ms Essah’s dream to get every child to develop important skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and digital literacy globally through their conferences and trainings, while making Child-In-Tech a household name.
“As technology continues to shape our world, there is a growing demand for workers with technology-related skills. Educating children on technology can help them develop these skills and prepare them for future careers in technology fields such as software development, cybersecurity and data science.
“Increase Digital Literacy: Children who receive education on technology are likely to become more digitally literate. This means they will have a better understanding of how technology works, how to use it safely and responsibly and how to navigate the online world,” she explained.
She also believes technology gives children are the opportunity to solve real-world problems and stimulate creativity in them.
“For example, they can learn how to use software tools to create digital art, music and videos,” she added.
To young girls who aspire to take up leadership roles, she advised, “been a woman means you are smart, tough and capable of achieving anything you put your mind to. If your passion is in the tech field, go for it! If it’s in the art field, go for it, because if you don’t, you are just ordinary and that’s not how you were created to be. Be the change the world needs.”
Writer’s email:[email protected]