Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
AfriTech Hub hosts its inaugural STEM Club Competition
Fellow(s): Sabina Nforba
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2020-2021 fellow Sabina Nforba organized the first STEM Club Competition hosted by her STEM education initiative, bringing together students to engage in technology and learn about STEM. Sabina is the co-founder and president of AfriTech Hub, an organization that empowers young students to pursue STEM education and STEM careers. AfriTech Hub has worked with over 3,000 students through its clubs, workshops and summits.
AfriTech Hub launched STEM clubs at the beginning of the academic year in schools throughout five cities in Cameroon. Despite setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of resources, Sabina, in partnership with STEMpreneur, trained AfriTech Hub team members to serve as facilitators for the STEM clubs. “Like every leader faced with challenges, I knew that they were inevitable, and what makes people different is their attitude when faced with these challenges,” wrote Sabina. Last week’s STEM Club Competition convened student representatives from AfriTech Hub’s partner schools to congratulate them for their hard work and facilitate activities in video game development, animation, electronics and more. “The students, ever so enthusiastic, developed video games and build a traffic lights system and a lie detector machine using Arduino electronics,” wrote Sabina. “We are extremely proud of what these students have accomplished in the course of the year and during this event. The energy here was contagious.”
Report Date...: 5/31/21
Fellow shares how she led Technovation through COVID-19
Fellow(s): Mutriba Akhmedova
Country: Tajikistan
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2015 fellow Mutriba Akhmedova was interviewed this month by
Technovation founder and CEO Tara Chklovski, speaking about
Technovation’s success in Tajikistan and how she worked to
engage girls through the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to
working as a project coordinator of TechWomen fellow-led
T.I.M.E for Women, Mutriba launched Technovation in Tajikistan
and serves as its chapter ambassador.
In the interview Mutriba shared that, in year two of Technovation
Tajikistan, enrollment went from 50 to 300 girls. Year three, held
during the pandemic, Mutriba and her team registered 600 girls while expanding to new regions of the country.
She also spoke about the challenges the girls faced during the pandemic as Technovation programming
transitioned to a virtual format and offered new ways of learning. Mutriba engaged girls online via Telegram,
assigning them weekly tasks and creating friendly competition. She also provided professional development
opportunities for the mentors, encouraging them to expand their skills. When asked what inspires her, Mutriba
said, “What inspires me is when I hear that I’ve helped inspire someone else.”
Report Date...: 5/31/21
Fellows speak on Grace Hopper Celebration EMEA panel
Fellow(s): Mai Temraz (2014), Haneen Abu Farha (2015) and Sameera Salameh (2020-2021)
Country: Palestinian Territories
Cohort: 2014, 2015, 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, fellows Mai Temraz (2014), Haneen Abu Farha (2015) and Sameera Salameh (2020-2021) were featured panelists at vGHC EMEA, the first-ever virtual Grace Hopper Celebration for Europe, Middle East and Africa. With a theme of Together We Build, the Grace Hopper Celebration’s EMEA conference seeks to celebrate women in technology worldwide, building new networks and creating new opportunities for women in the EMEA region.
The fellows were joined by Manara founder Iliana Montauk in their session themed on how COVID-19 has changed the landscape of remote work for women in MENA. Together, they discussed how women in MENA can leverage remote work opportunities in order to accelerate their careers and goals. “You cannot apply to international jobs in same way you do in your country,” said Haneen, who works as a diversity sourcer for Yardstick Management as well as a technical recruiter for Upwork. “Keep in mind, why should the company hire you from overseas to come and join them? You can apply to any job — you just need to position yourself in the right place to succeed.” The group also spoke about the types of skills applicants can develop in order to stand out in a wider pool of candidates, including advancing their soft skills. Sameera, a backend engineer, spoke about the challenges of remote work, including time zone differences and the importance of setting boundaries. “The world is changing,” said Mai as she concluded the panel. “We encourage everyone here to take advantage of those opportunities post-COVID.”
Report Date...: 5/24/21
Fellow holds science camps for kids around the globe
Fellow(s): Saba Rasheed Malik
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2017 fellow Saba Rasheed Malik launched a summer STEAM camp for kids, bringing students through DIY lessons that teach the fundamentals of STEM. The program is a part of weePro, the STEM education program Saba co-founded that teaches young students about computational thinking, robotics, programming and more.
The camp began this week with Demo Week, three days of free programming that includes learning about science through common household items as well as coding from scratch. Students joined Demo Week’s first event from around the world, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Pakistan. The second event brought students from multiple regions of Pakistan as well as London for a coding session where they learned how to build a computer game. Saba offers discounts to girls as a way to encourage them to participate in STEM. “It is a step forward to respond to gender parity in science and technology,” she said.
Report Date...: 5/24/21
Fellow speaks about the power of mentorship at TEDxParklands
Fellow(s): Dr. Chao Mbogho
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2017 fellow Dr. Chao Mbogho spoke at TedXParklands in Nairobi, sharing four qualities of impactful mentorship programs and reflecting on her career in computer science. Chao is the founder of KamiLimu, a free mentorship program for computer science students at Kenyan universities that enhances their learning experiences; the program ensures that each cohort has 50% female-identifying students.
“Mentorship is not about creating someone in your own image, but allowing them to create themselves,” Chao said in her talk, Holding up the Ladder. Chao outlined her learnings from running KamiLimu, emphasizing that successful mentorship programs must create safe spaces, center on students’ mentorship needs and focus on depth and structure. “We’ve seen students who have become leaders in their local and international communities,” said Chao. “I call upon each one of us to hold the ladder up for others. If we can do these we can impact one, 10, 100 or even 1,000 others.”
Report Date...: 5/24/21
Alumnae of Kyrgyzstan guide new fellows with action plans
Fellow(s): Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
Although TechWomen 2020-2021 has concluded, country teams continue to work on their action plans, focusing on project implementation with support from seed grants that all 21 teams were offered this year. In IIE’s Action Plan Implementation course, fellows can access comprehensive materials meant to support and guide them. One resource is a video from the TechWomen fellows who founded Techaim — 2016 fellow Nazira Sheraly, 2017 fellow Aiturgan Zulpukarova and 2018 fellows Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva – that outlines successful program implementation and shares how to create impactful projects.
The AEIF-winning Techaim project provides mentorship to women and girls to grow and develop their STEM skills and expand their knowledge in business, leadership and more. Since it’s launch, the fellows have expanded their programming to include TechKyzdar, a digital skills program for girls launched with support from UNICEF Kyrgyzstan, as well as an online mentorship course for women. In the video, the alumnae emphasize the importance of defining team roles and responsibilities as well as evaluating and monitoring performance, guiding 2020-2021 fellows through implementing a high-impact, sustainable project. In addition to sharing the importance of flexibility and adaptability, the alumnae encourage fellows to stay focused on their mission: “Just like in TechWomen, the brightest result is how the girls change, how they feel empowered and how they want to be mentors, changemakers and inspirational people for the coming generations,” said Aiturgan.
Report Date...: 5/17/21
Mentor(s): Sepideh Nasiri
Company: Women of MENA in Technology
Mentor Type: Impact
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, TechWomen mentor Sepideh Nasiri authored a post on
Entrepreneur, sharing actionable ways companies can ensure pay
equity, hire more fairly and creating lasting change from the top
down. Sepideh, a diversity, equity and inclusion advocate, is also the
founder and CEO of Women of MENA in Technology.
“Companies need to take bold and intentional action now; anything
less perpetuates an ecosystem that fails women,” writes Sepideh in
the article. Through her six tips – which include readjusting salary
and benefits, revisiting hiring strategy and approaching diversity as a
spectrum rather than a checklist – Sepideh hopes that companies
can make measurable improvements that better serve employees
and companies. “Recreating the workplace is everyone’s
responsibility,” she said.
Report Date...: 5/17/21
With EduClick Careers fellow connects young people to jobs
Fellow(s): Angele Messa
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2019 fellow Angele Messa has launched EduClick Careers, a job
portal with a mission to help one million young people access
jobs and other opportunities by 2025. 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. With both offline and online educational
methods, EduClick supports displaced people, recent graduates
and young professionals who are looking to gain marketable
skills.
In addition to listing the latest job opportunities and
scholarships for young people, EduClick Careers offers
resume/CV assistance, support creating a business plan and
tools to create an online presence. By offering a comprehensive search engine for young people, Angele hopes
to democratize job access, matching talent to opportunity regardless of geographic location and gender.
Report Date...: 5/17/21
Fellow speaks on students’ reproductive health in TV interview
Fellow(s): Linah Anyango
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
2019 fellow of Kenya Linah Anyango was a guest on KTN News
Kenya, speaking about the need to focus on girls’ reproductive
health education to improve school attendance and their
participation in STEM fields. The interview was aired on KTN’s Her
Standards show, a platform that shares conversations on gender
equality and women’s empowerment.
Linah is a biology and chemistry educator, EdTech coach and
STEM advocate. In the interview, Linah shared that in order to
make STEM more inclusive for girls, their sexual and reproductive
health must be addressed. In Kenya, an estimated 13,000 girls
drop out of school every year due to pregnancy; one in every five girls between nine and 19 is either a young
mother or pregnant. “Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases have derailed lives of many
promising future engineers or scientists that this country greatly needs,” said Linah. She called for a greater
effort to implement reproductive health policies and sexual education curriculum that will help keep girls in
school. “Provision of age-appropriate comprehensive sexuality education, as part of a wider life-skill and
empowerment learning package will help guide their decisions, with parents and teachers playing their
collective role. Only then, can the efforts to encourage interest in STEM pay dividends,” she said.
Report Date...: 5/10/21
At Veritas fellow learns the meaning of mentorship
Fellow(s): Ayesha Iftikhar
Country: Pakistan
Cohort: 2020-2021
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
2020-2021 fellow Ayesha Iftikhar has authored the latest post on
the TechWomen blog, sharing about her professional mentorship
experience at Veritas Technologies. In her guest post, Ayesha, an
assistant professor and cybersecurity researcher, writes about
her decision to make the best of her professional mentorship in a
virtual setting. Not knowing what to expect, Ayesha found that
her Veritas mentors helped her develop and execute her
professional mentorship goals. “They offered their support with
every possible thing that they could,” she writes.
Although the TechWomen 2020-2021 program concluded, Ayesha’s mentorship has continued, and she regularly meets with her mentors as well as Veritas employees and company leadership. “My professional goals
have evolved. I now know better where I have to reach — I am able to connect the dots. I have found my career path to be really streamlined now, with concrete steps that I have to take to reach my destiny,” she writes.
Report Date...: 5/10/21
