Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Next Generation Women Leaders Award
Fellow(s): Asal Ibrahim
Country: Jordan
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Asal Ibrahim, 2014 fellow of Jordan, has received a Next Generation Women Leaders (NGWL) award from McKinsey & Company. NGWL awards are presented to women who want to use their talents to create positive change in their lives and the world we share. The program aims to connect entrepreneurial women from all over the world through events hosted by the company. Winners receive a financial award to implement a project of their choice and are mentored by a consultant at McKinsey. According to Asal, this award “boosts [her] confidence and gives [her] access to vast global networks which open doors to endless possibilities for the future.” Asal plans to use the financial award to broaden her volunteer work in Africa.
Read More »Report Date...: 8/14/2017
Inspiring South African Women in Tech
Fellow(s): Baratang Miya, Nomso Kana, Lindiwe Matlali
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2013, 2015, 2017
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Baratang Miya, 2015 fellow of South Africa, was named by Business Tech as one of five inspiring South African women working in technology. Baratang was recognized for her work as the founder of Girl Hype, a not-for-profit organization that provides coding and app development training for girls and young women. Her work was also featured in a podcast interview by the Grey Ave Podcast, where she spoke about Girl Hype, shared her personal story of how she got started in technology and talked about her travels, including to the United States as part of TechWomen. In addition to herself being an inspirational woman in tech, Baratang served as a judge in the Inspiring Fifty: South Africa 2017 competition in which Nomso Kana, 2013 fellow, and Lindiwe Matlali, 2017 Emerging Leader, were named as winners.
Read More »Report Date...: 8/14/2017
Middle East North Africa Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (TIES)
Fellow(s): Mariam Keriakos and Nazha Larhissi
Country: Egypt, Morocco
Cohort: 2013, 2015
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Mariam Kariakos, 2015 fellow of Egypt, and Nezha Larhrissi, 2013 fellow of Morocco, were invited to speak at the Middle East North Africa Alumni Thematic International Exchange Seminars (TIES) seminar held in Casablanca, Morocco in July. Funded by ECA, Alumni TIES brings together alumni of U.S. State Department exchange programs for regional, thematically focused seminars. Mariam and Nezha spoke on an all-female panel called “Identifying and Leveraging Untapped Resources and Markets.” Mariam highlighted how she used her business consulting and technology experience to launch her own business, Craftista.me, and offered guidance on how to blend entrepreneurship with social impact and strategies to create women friendly working environments. Nezha spoke about how her experience as an advisor to Morocco’s Minister of Environment brought her to realize how much global collaboration was crucial to the fight against global warming and how she used the network she established with TechWomen to co-found e-STEM Morocco with two other TechWomen fellows.
Read More »Report Date...: 8/7/2017
Small Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission
Fellow(s): Nazira Sheraly
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls
Charba, a company started by 2016 fellow of Kyrgyzstan, Nazira Sheraly, received an award through the Small Grants Program of the U.S. Embassy Democracy Commission, administered by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek. Charba’s mission is to use innovative technologies to create affordable and high quality greenhouses. In partnership with Atuul, a local NGO, Nazira’s company is using the grant to educate women on the greenhouse business and business in general, to coach women who are implementing their own business ideas and to monitor and evaluate the newly established businesses. To further motivate the women involved, Nazira plans to hold a competition to provide additional mentorship and support for seven winners to make their businesses more successful.
Read More »Report Date...: 8/7/2017
Fellow(s): Marie Claire Murekatete
Country: Rwanda
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Marie Claire received the Change Agent ABIE Award, which honors an outstanding non-U.S. woman who created or expanded opportunities for girls and women in technology. Marie Claire’s accomplishments include founding a non-profit organization called Refugee Girls Need You and becoming a Master Educator with the Technovation Challenge.
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Report Date...: 7/31/2017
Fellow(s): Faten Khalfallah and Eman Abusaada
Country: Palestinian Territories, Tunisia
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Two girls participating in the 2017 TechGirls program are mentored by TechWomen fellows. Eman Abusaada, 2015 fellow of the Palestinian Territories and co-organizer of Banat-Tech – a program founded by TechWomen fellows, and Faten Khalfallah, 2015 fellow of Tunisia and founder of First Skills Club, have mentees participating in the three-week exchange program. “I volunteered to be a co-organizer and Banat-Tech program coordinator at Gaza Strip. I increased awareness about the importance of diverse skills for teenagers,” Eman said. “I encouraged the girls to apply for Techgirls program. I was really proud to be the coordinator and organizer, and now Lina is in Washington.”
Report Date...: 7/10/2017
Fellow(s): Janet Fofang
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2013
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Janet Fofang, 2013 fellow of Cameroon and director of Girls in Tech – Cameroon, has mentored a team of students, aged 15 to 18 years old, to compete in the inaugural FIRST Globalrobotic competition in Washington, D.C. FIRST Global shared a video of the team that wants “to find long-term solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.” Janet also helped organize the Next Einstein Forum’s Africa Science Week in Yaounde, June 27-29, which included a hackathon, women in STEM event and tech meetup.
Read More »Report Date...: 7/3/2017
Next Einstein Forum
Fellow(s): Sylvia Mukasa
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Sylvia Mukasa, 2014 fellow of Kenya and Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Ambassador, helped launch the first NEF Africa Science Week (ASW) in Nairobi, June 27-30. The celebration of science and technology included a hackathon for farming, women in STEM day and panels open to the general public. “We want to provide that platform for relevant discussions and monetary commitments toward research and development in Kenya,” Sylvia said. “The government needs to empower its young people to increase their ability to personally influence what is happening in their lives and communities.”
Read More »Report Date...: 6/26/2017
Fellow(s): Beatrice Sonfack
Country: Cameroon
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Youth Engagement
Beatrice Sonfack, 2016 fellow of Cameroon, has launched an association to empower and inspire young girls to engage in engineering and technology. Women in Engineering and Technology (WENTECH) targets girls from 13 to 18 years old through interactive workshops. After returning from the TechWomen program, Beatrice met with Cameroon’s Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, who has provided space for WENTECH to hosts its workshops. In March, Beatrice organized the first workshop for 17 girls with three trainers. In the most recent workshop sponsored by Orange Cameroon, June 19-20, 45 girls participated with four trainers, including Arielle Kitio, 2016 fellow of Cameroon. The workshops introduced girls to robotics and mobile application development.
Read More »Report Date...: 6/26/2017
Fellow(s): Aretha Mare, Maha Ech-Chefaa, Sarah Abdallah
Country: Lebanon, Morocco, Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2013, 2016
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls
Aretha Mare, 2013 fellow of Zimbabwe, and 2016 fellows Maha Ech-Chefaa of Morocco and Sarah Abdallah of Lebanon participated on virtual panels hosted by Heart of All Women and Women Network earlier this month. The panel discussions were moderated by Cultural Mentor Ruby Yeh, founder of Heart of All Women. In the panel series, “Women’s Global Healing and Empowerment Fest,” which was organized by region, fellows shared personal stories about their experience and challenges of being women in STEM.
Read More »Report Date...: 6/19/2017
