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Women in tech: how to train the next generation?

Women have long been unknown pioneers of the digital economy.

Did you know that the world's very first programmer was a woman? In 1843, Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm designed to be processed by a machine. She paved the way for all the women who followed in the field of programming. COBOL, one of the major FINTECH languages, was also created by a woman: Grace Hopper. And have you heard of Katherine Johnson, NASA star of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in the 60s?

However, women are still under-represented in tech. This is a worldwide problem, in Europe, in East Africa, as Regina Honu, founder of Soronko Academy in Ghana confirmed in an interview. And in Guinea, our first programming competition attracted only 20% of female participants.

To explore this issue further, we organized a Women in Digital webinar on September 8, 2023, in collaboration with Association Ganndal. We invited female programmers and heads of computer programming training schools to share their views on the issue.

Specific obstacles

We’re in 2023 and women still face many obstacles to digital access and education:

• They are often economically dependent on their families or husbands.
• The world of the digital economy is essentially a male-dominated environment. Society doesn't imagine women in this world.
• For Nadine Zoro, women without a good knowledge of digital tools are exposed to many risks, which increases their sense of insecurity online.
• Houleymatou Baldé, founder of IT WOMAN movement, and Fanta Kromah, Customer Success Manager at IBM, also testified to cases of blatant sexism during their studies, both in France and Guinea.

A significant impact for the economy

The girls of today are the professionals of tomorrow, and as Kadiatou Konaté of the Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée declared, digital technology is a tool for women's emancipation.

• Demystifying the sector: Djamilatou Diallo, R&D and AI Engineer, advocates making the sector accessible so that mothers encourage their daughters to get involved in it, starting from kindergarten, as Aïssata Tambadou, CEO of PlanB.io, passionately proposes;
• Promoting digital literacy at an early age to avoid the "impostor syndrome", especially among women: IT WOMAN movement raises awareness of gender equality in kindergarten, representativeness in primary school, information on tech careers in secondary schools, and gender issues in high school;
• Unleashing women's creativity: in Africa, 30% of entrepreneurs are women, and according to Nadine Zoro, women propose more creative solutions for the market, to solve crucial social problems. A better mastery of digital tools by women will benefit society as a whole.

As Nadine Zoro, Director of the DigiFemmes program, points out, women represent around 50% of the world's population: we can't hope to develop the global economy without half the population!

So how can we make this sector more accessible?

Quotas work!

Both Digifemmes and PlanB take a proactive approach to women's development.

Indeed, the Digifemmes program was created to empower women through digital skills and entrepreneurship. The criteria to be eligible for the DigiFemmes Academy program are very simple: be a woman of at least 16 years of age and know how to read and write.

On the PlanB.io side, even if the training courses are mixed, and 75% of applicants are men, Aïssata Tambadou insists on gender parity for each promotion.

Offering training courses accessible to women

We need to adapt to women's realities. To achieve this, it would be wise to offer free training courses, preferably with flexible hours, even at weekends, and including access to a computer. It's important to avoid late-night meetings, and to recognize that women have significant domestic duties that can't be put aside.

In selecting candidates, Sandra Takassi Kikpa, program manager of Digifemmes Academy, stressed one key element: testing candidates' motivation and perseverance rather than their knowledge.

What skills do you need to succeed in tech?

Testimonials from female tech professionals have helped us identify the key skills needed for a successful career:

1. English: As Business Analyst Jocelyne Assogba explains so well, she works with developers in Russia, South America and Paris - everyone communicates in English. English is a necessity
2. Determination. Djamilatou Diallo insists on the need to believe in oneself, in one's skills, and not to be afraid to take initiative.
3. Soft skills: Jocelyne Assogba, Kadiatou Dia Diallo and Fanta Kromah focus on "soft skills". For a programmer, the most important are :
   1. Good time management,
   2. Diplomacy, firmness
   3. Ability to collaborate and work in a team
4. Mentoring: For Kadiatou Diallo, it's important to create sisterhood networks to raise awareness, guide and support young girls.

If you'd like to find out more about this important topic, you can watch the entire webinar on Youtube. Many thanks to our moderator Kadiatou Diallo, who gave visibility to our event and did a great job with a busy schedule. We would also like to thank all our speakers, including :

• Nadine Zoro, Director, Digifemmes Program
• Sandra Takassi-Kikpa, Director, Digifemmes Academy
• Aïssata Tambadou, CEO, Le PlanB.io
• Houleymatou Baldé, IT Woman movement
• Kadiatou Konaté, Club des jeunes filles leaders de Guinée
• Fanta Kromah, Customer Success Manager, IBM
• Djamilatou Diallo, R&D and AI Engineer
• Jocelyne Assogba, Business Analyst
• Kadiatou Diallo, Digial Entrepreneur

So, as Ganndal's Amadou Bayo says, there's always a bias in the code, because the programmer includes his own biases. So it's high time African women programmers seized digital technology to solve their problems.

At FATA.school, we look forward to seeing you!

We regularly publish articles to inform our members and partners of the progress and impact of the FATA project. See all articles