Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Fellow joins U.S. Embassy’s Alumni Mentorship Program
Fellow(s): Ghada Amin
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2018 fellow Ghada Amin was accepted as a mentor for the Alumni Mentorship Program, an initiative from the U.S. Embassy Cairo that empowers alumni of State Department-funded exchange programs to train and mentor others in their communities. The program, available in Cairo, Alexandria and Upper Egypt, seeks to connect alumni mentors and mentees from diverse fields to support mentees with their personal and professional goals.
In addition to working as an environment and compliance service manager, Ghada is an ambassador of sustainable development for Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, an initiative that seeks to build capacity around environmental sustainability. Last month, Ghada attended a three-day training that offered program mentors tools and best practices for optimizing the mentor and mentee experience. This month, she began mentoring five women in the fields of sustainable development, climate change and digital marketing; two of the women are undergraduate students, two are graduates and one is a high school student who is also an alumna of the TechGirls program. Ghada will mentor the women for three months, guiding them through challenges and offering her advice and expertise. “I’m so inspired by the program,” said Ghada. “I’m excited to mentor more people and give back to our community.”
Report Date...: 1/3/2022
Fellow featured in U.S. Embassy’s #30Years30Friends campaign
Fellow(s): Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2018 fellow Gulzire Minbaeva was highlighted in #30Years30Friends, a campaign from the U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic that celebrates the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Kyrgyz Republic.
After visiting Khan Academy HQ during TechWomen 2018 Gulzire, a teacher and education advocate, became the official representative of Khan Academy in Kyrgyzstan. Since then, she has been featured for leading a team that is translating thousands of video courses to Kyrgyz available for free to students throughout Kyrgyzstan. In her #30Years30Friends spotlight, Gulzire shared how the TechWomen program supported her in achieving her dreams: “The TechWomen program is the best program aimed at developing the qualities of leadership, determination, risk, diligence and wisdom,” she said. “TechWomen taught me to look for opportunities, to recognize them and to use them properly. I learned to inspire myself, to always move forward and to achieve goals.”
Report Date...: 1/3/2022
Fellow named a 2021 InspiringFifty winner
Fellow(s): Rogeema Kenny
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Rogeema Kenny was named an InspiringFifty winner, recognized for her leadership and commitment to inspiring women and youth. Established by CoCreateSANL, the Inspiring 50 list recognizes women in STEM fields that serve as role models and leaders in their communities. Through honoring women leaders, CoCreateSANL hopes to increase the visibility of diverse women in STEM and inspire girls to choose a STEM career.
Since TechWomen, Rogeema has led projects that introduced over 11,000 youth to coding. She is the founding director of Altelim, a non-profit focused on youth development, tech education and transfering knowledge to those most in need to effect social change. “I am driven by impact, and work tirelessly to get more young people and girls into STEM careers,” Rogeema said. “I use my platform to inspire people to go for their dreams and to believe that anything is possible.”
Report Date...: 1/3/2022
USALTech hosts the TechWomen/TechGirls Gathering
Fellow(s): Nisreen Deeb, Ghana Bteich, Lara Chikhani, Rasha Sukkarieh
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2013, 2015, 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
TechWomen and TechGirls alumnae hosted the TechWomen/TechGirls Gathering, a networking event that connected alumnae and invited local women and girls in technology to learn about the two programs. The gathering was organized by U.S. Alumnae for Lebanese TechWomen and TechGirls (USALTech), a club and online platform founded by fellows Nisreen Deeb (2013), Ghana Bteich (2015) and 2017 fellows Lara Chikhani and Rasha Sukkarieh, alongside TechGirls alumnae. With support from Legacy International, USALTech connects Lebanese exchange program alumnae, promotes opportunities for women and girls in STEM and encourages its members to share their skills and expertise.
The event, attended by the public affairs officer and cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy Beirut, introduced both the TechWomen and TechGirls programs to potential applicants, and invited each attendee to introduce herself and share her professional interests. “Instant connections were made,” said Nisreen. “Many ladies shared the same career paths. Some TechWomen were able to help many TechGirls on the spot.” After, the alumnae hosted a Q&A for both programs, answering questions about the applications and sharing their exchange experiences. Many of the women and girls also spoke about the challenges they face in Lebanon, and the group agreed to continue the conversation and help one another moving forward. “New connections and new bridges for support were made,” said Nisreen.
Report Date...: 12/29/2021
Fellows speak about EdTech at YALI Connect
Fellow(s): Horore Bebga, Angele Messa
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2018 fellow Horore Bebga and 2019 fellow Angele Messa were featured speakers at YALI Connect, a monthly event from the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), an initiative from the U.S. Department of State that educates and connects the next generation of African leaders. The event, themed on education, was hosted by the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Dakar, Senegal, a space that offers training to young leaders from 16 African countries. Horore and Angele are both YALI alumnae. Angele is the founder of EduClick, an EdTech platform that offers alternative learning methods for those who don’t have access to formal education in Cameroon. Horore is the co-founder of Likalo Education, a STEM education initiative that empowers young people with 21st century skills. Likalo’s newest platform, Cyber Muna, offers media and online safety education for children and educational institutions. At the event, Horore and Angele shared their experiences and challenges working in education and answered questions from YALI alumnae about women in EdTech. “Horore and I unanimously believe African women have their part to play in education in general,” said Angele. “We don’t only believe they have a part to play, we believe they are the main players in the field.”
Read More »Report Date...: 12/29/2021
Fellow highlighted in CNN feature for empowering women
Fellow(s): Durdona Bakhronova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2020-2021 fellow Durdona Bakhronova was featured in a story on CNN, highlighted for her work mentoring women and youth in IT. In the interview, This woman wants more female coders in Uzbekistan, Durdona spoke about starting her career in coding without role models: “There were so few female representatives,” she said. “I decided to change that.”
Durdona works as a frontend developer for Super Dispatch, and is committed to empowering women and young people in Tashkent to pursue STEM fields. As a mentor, she encourages women to create products for their communities from the female perspective: “So many men try to build a product for everybody, but half of the population is women,” she said. Through her advocacy, Durdona hopes to communicate that anyone can be a mentor and role model: “What I do is contribute to the community in the form of meetups, developer festivals, etc. Other than that, I’m just a simple software engineer who just wants more women in IT.”
Report Date...: 12/29/2021
Fellows’ inspiring stories featured in Womenpreneur book
Fellow(s): Ouafa Benterki (Algeria, 2012), Layal Jebran (Lebanon, 2017) and Nevien Magdy (Egypt, 2019)
Country: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon
Cohort: 2012, 2017, 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Fellows Ouafa Benterki (Algeria, 2012), Layal Jebran (Lebanon, 2017) and Nevien Magdy (Egypt, 2019) shared their stories of entrepreneurship and resilience for the Womenpreneur Tour book, a compilation of features spotlighting inspiring women in the MENA region. The Womenpreneur Initiative is a Brussels-based organization with a mission to advance and support women entrepreneurs and innovators in Belgium and MENA.
In 2019, the initiative embarked on the Womenpreneur Tour, traveling throughout MENA to meet inspiring women and hear their stories of entrepreneurship. Their book, “Women Turning Crises into Opportunities: 18 inspiring stories from Algeria, Egypt and Lebanon,” chronicles the journeys of the women they met, highlighting their career trajectories and the challenges they overcame. Ouafa is the founder and CEO of MTY Intelligent Software, the first women-led AI startup in Algeria. In her interview, she outlined the uphill battle she faced as a woman leader: “Every time I thought about quitting, though, I told myself if I don’t realize my dream no one else will do it for me.” In her feature, Nevien, the founder and CEO of UXit and Origin Technology Solutions, spoke about building company culture with a remote team and the drive required to start a business. Layal was highlighted as co-founder of Moubarmij, an Edtech platform that offers programming video tutorials in Arabic: “I don’t think entrepreneurs should ever stop if they truly believe in what they’re doing,” she said. 2019 fellow of Jordan Esra’a Alsanie, founder of environmental startup EnvaTechs, was also interviewed, sharing her entrepreneurial journey in a video feature.
Report Date...: 12/13/21
Fellow wins leadership award for women with disabilities
Fellow(s): Asna Javed Khan
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2019 fellow Asna Javed Khan was awarded the Khadija Tul Kubra Awards Leadership Award for Women with Disabilities, recognized for her career success, advocacy and resilience. Held in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the annual ceremony honors the contributions and impact of women with disabilities in Pakistan. Asna is a lead developer advocate at IBM as well as the co-founder of Bachaoo, a child advocacy initiative that won a TechWomen 2019 seed grant. Earlier this year, Asna was featured in an IBM video sharing her story and inspiring others to overcome personal challenges.
This year’s Khadija Tuk Kubra Awards received a total of 118 nominations; seven women were selected, and Asna was the only winner representing the technology industry. She received her award from Kanwal Shauzab and Wajiha Qamar, members of Pakistan’s National Assembly. “Being differently-abled, I have always been active to advocate for people with diverse abilities,” Asna wrote. “I am truly honored to receive this award.”
Report Date...: 12/13/21
Fellow speaks about diversity and social impact on IGF panel
Fellow(s): Baratang Miya
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2015 fellow Baratang Miya spoke on a high-level exchange panel at this month’s Internet Governance Forum, an annual event that brings together leaders from over 175 countries to dicuss internet-related public policy issues, address challenges and share best practices in over 300 sessions. For its 16th year the event was hosted by the Government of Poland and themed on “Internet United.”
Baratang is the founder of GirlHype, an initiative that empowers women and girls through tech training and digital literacy workshops. She also serves as the deputy chair for the South African Internet Governance Forum (ZAIGF). On her panel, Bara, alongside other international leaders, discussed how emerging technologies can successfully integrate goals of diversity, inclusivity and social responsibility. The panel also spoke about the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and how digital technology can create positive change. “This is truly a great achievement for me,” said Bara. “I know this might sound cliché, however it’s the truth: the TechWomen program gave me the courage to unleash the power in me I never had.”
Report Date...: 12/13/21
Fellow wins Women in STEM Champion Award
Fellow(s): Josephine Ndambuki
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Last month, 2013 fellow of Kenya Josephine Ndambuki was named winner of the Women on Boards Network’s Women in STEM Champion Award, recognized for her STEM advocacy and leadership for women and girls in Kenya. The Women on Boards Network (WOBN) works to address the gender gap within corporate boards through supporting and promoting women leaders. This year’s inaugural WOBN Awards brought together women leaders in Kenya to celebrate gender parity on boards and honor those who have made significant contributions to gender diversity.
Josephine is the manager of economic development, partnerships and resource mobilization for Konza Technopolis, a mixed-use city and innovation hub that is a flagship program of Kenya’s Vision 2030 economic development portfolio. She is also the founder of DigitzeHer, an initiative that trains women and girls with digital skills. Last year, Josephine wrote a guest blog for TechWomen about her journey to Konza Technopolis, reflecting on her TechWomen experience that served as a catalyst for her personal and professional development.
The Women in STEM Champion Award recognizes a woman that has advocated for women in STEM fields, serving as a role model for women and girls in Kenya. “I take this with a lot of humility and dedicate this to the many women in STEM, HeForShe mentors and advocates, role models and organizations that I have had an opportunity to work with in this journey,” wrote Josephine. “We cannot afford to have a gender divide in the digital divide.”
Report Date...: 12/6/21
