Why GE Nigeria’s Women In Tech Initiatives Are So Important For This Sector

Why GE Nigeria’s Women In Tech Initiatives Are So Important For This Sector

Recently, an anonymous “manifesto” written by a software engineer at Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, California and circulated to thousands of other Google employees, was leaked to the media due to the controversial nature of its contents.

The memo, which Google has officially distanced itself from, essentially argued against the promotion of race and gender diversity. Understandably, female staff at Google and others in the tech sector have reacted angrily to the memo, but many tech analysts say that this memo is precisely the reason why large tech companies such as Google need to encourage more gender and racial diversity in the workplace.

While this controversy casts the spotlight on the lack of women in technology, it should be noted that there are a few global companies, such as GE, which have realised the need for a more diverse workforce and have been supporting development programmes across the world to encourage girls and young women to consider Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers.

The GE Women’s Network (GEWN) in Nigeria has been encouraging girls and young women to get involved in STEM for many years and ran a successful Girls  in Technology programme last year. This year, GEWN Nigeria launched the GE Girls Mentorship Programme with the theme “No Barriers, No Limits” and the two-day event saw girls between the ages of 10 and 17 from various schools in Lagos State converging at GE’s office in Lagos.

On Day One, 16 girls were paired with GE mentors in STEM roles and they engaged in activities to learn about STEM and to hopefully be encouraged to consider pursuing a career in one of the many related professions. The girls participated in personal assignments, projects, team-building exercises and they were given advice by GE leaders. The day also included a tour of the GE Lagos Garage innovation hub  and presentations about skills development as well as the exciting world of digital industrial technology.

On Day Two, the GEWN team welcomed 37 girls from the Women’s Technology Empowerment Center, a Nigerian non-governmental organisation working to empower girls and women socially, and economically by helping to build technology skills and literacy among women. The girls went through a programme, which was similar to the first group on Day One, and they also learnt about JAVA programming and had to demonstrate what they had learnt in a project.

Importantly, both groups of girls were given advice on how to select the right education path to support their careers. They were also given guidance on how to get the support of their parents and how to go about overcoming the stereotype that women are not meant to pursue STEM careers.

Bisi Shonekan, one of the leaders of the Women’s Network in Nigeria, said: “We take great pride in getting involved in events that focus on encouraging girls and women in tech because we know how difficult it is sometimes for women to break into the tech sector. We also know how important it is for us to have more women in STEM and we always look forward to sharing our experiences with the next generation of tech leaders.”

The two-day event ended on a high with all 53 girls being given certificates and laptops, courtesy of GEWN Nigeria, and with all of them reaffirming the slogan “No Barriers, No Limits”.

Source.