Impact Stories from Environmental Sustainability Policy Area
Mentors inspire young students to pursue their STEM passions
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Uzbekistan
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
On day five, delegates visited students at three local secondary schools, introducing them to STEM fields and fostering their interest in entrepreneurship, robotics and more through interactive dialogue and exploratory exercises. Throughout the day, students learned about new industries and were challenged to think about how can they turn their passions into sustainable careers.
At School #31, mentor Elaina Tia led students in an exercise called “My Three Alternative Lives,” which prompted girls to think about their current career aspirations, their “plan B” and the careers they would unabashedly pursue if given the chance. Initially pursuing a career in finance, Elaina shared that she chose to follow her passion for design, ultimately becoming a UX designer at LinkedIn. She encouraged the girls to follow their curiosity, reminding them that they have the ability to choose their own path despite any challenges they may face.
The activities ended with a Q&A session, during which one student asked mentors about the biggest risk they had taken in their career. Mentor Maile Smith said that she takes a series of risks every day, insisting that she is heard, respected and valued: “I take a seat at the table even if I’m not offered a seat at the table,” she said.
Report Date...: 3/25/19
Delegates share their professional journeys at STEM Career Day
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Uzbekistan
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
On day four, delegates connected with secondary school students for STEM Career Day hosted at Westminster International University in Tashkent and organized by doITwomen, a tech education program for women started by TechWomen fellows in Uzbekistan. The day offered a chance for students to learn about diverse careers in STEM fields, focusing on the future of STEM careers and opportunities that the students, especially girls, may not have previously considered pursuing.
In her afternoon keynote, mentor Rebecca Biswas of Juniper Network’s spoke about her career as an engineer, stressing the importance of empowering women in the field: “We know that girls belong in STEM just as much as boys,” she said. Once the only female engineering student at her university, Rebecca emphasized that today, the STEM ecosystem is becoming more inclusive and mindful of bringing diverse voices to the table.
The panel that followed gave students candid insight into mentors’ career journeys, showing them that finding your passion is not always a linear path. In one exercise, mentor Eileen Brewer asked panelists their career aspirations when they were 18 versus when they were 30, showing students that successful careers require flexibility and exploration. In the breakout sessions that followed, 2015 fellow of Lebanon Ghana Bteich reiterated that career changes should not just be expected, but also embraced. In her group, mentor Patricia Bovan Campbell of Salesforce explained that she has always looked at new jobs as very exciting opportunities: “They give you a chance to reinvent yourself,” she explained.
In many groups, students were concerned about balancing professional and personal aspirations. Addressing her group, mentor Shachi Patel, who owns her own professional coaching business, assured students that they still had time to find their passions, stressing that professional goals often require hard work, long hours and sacrifice: “If you want to be the best at something, it is going to take some time – but it’s possible.”
Report Date...: 3/25/19
Delegation kicks off Women in Tech and Science Week
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Uzbekistan
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
On day three of the delegation trip, delegates helped kick off Central Asia Women in Tech and Science Week, a week-long event organized by TechWomen fellows and hosted in partnership with Inha University. The event, attended by students, STEM professionals and government officials from across the region, consisted of mentor-led panels, breakout sessions and pitch training for young girls participating in Technovation Uzbekistan.
Throughout the day’s sessions, mentors showed students possibilities in STEM fields, encouraging them to match their talents to one of the many diverse careers that exist in STEM. In interactive hands-on STEM workshops, young children learned fundamentals of robotics, electricity and motherboards, taking turns to control robots, solder hardware and use simple materials to conduct electricity.
Later in the day, mentors and fellows joined nearly 20 Technovation Uzbekistan teams for a session on pitching. Mentors Eileen Brewer of Symantec and Erin Keeley of Western Digital led the group, supporting the girls to refine their pitches and inviting teams to join them on stage to iterate and gather feedback. The teams’ mobile apps paired real-world issues – for example, plastic pollution, teen pregnancy and bullying – with innovative solutions and free resources. Team CyberKids presented their app called “Timeshare,” a platform that suggests to children and parents activities to encourage interaction and quality time. Another team created a mobile app for young mothers, helping them care for their babies through interactive and educational resources. Addressing the girls at the end of the session, Erin congratulated all participants on challenging themselves to create apps that serve a greater purpose: “Your apps have the potential to make a difference in your communities,” she said.
Report Date...: 3/25/19
Fellow wins global UN competition for women in business
Fellow(s): Saida Yusupova
Country: Uzbekistan
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
This week it was announced that 2016 fellow of Uzbekistan Saida Yusupova was a winner of SDGs & Her, a competition for women entrepreneurs working to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their business operations. The contest, sponsored by UNDP, UN Women, the World Bank Group and the Wharton School’s Zicklin Center, seeks out microenterprise owners who are increasing knowledge about the 17 SDGs addressing themes such as gender equality, clean energy and economic growth.
Saida, one of two winners out of over 1,200 applications, is a sustainable development specialist and founder of Green Business Innovation, a consultancy company established shortly after her TechWomen experience. Specializing in green and clean energy, the company focuses on curbing carbon emmissions and advancing green technologies with a mission to accelerate sustainable economies worldwide.
Saida is a co-organizer of the second annual Women in Science and Tech Week, which coincides with TechWomen’s 2019 delegation trip to Uzbekistan. TechWomen delegates will gather with STEM professionals from throughout the country, joining the Women in Science and Tech Week’s official kickoff event as well as sessions for entrepreneurs and students throughout the week.
Report Date...: 3/18/19
Delegates visit fellow-led initiative at local secondary school
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2013 - 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
On day two of the delegation trip, following an initial day of visiting cultural landmarks, delegates traveled to The Services Secondary School in Freetown. The school has partnered with Catch Them Young (CATHY), an initiative started by 2017 fellows Chrisla Koroma, Haja Sovula, Umu Kamara, Victoria Kamara and Jestina Johnson. CATHY aims to provide a platform for young minds to engage in STEM activities, providing peer mentoring and supporting the students in finding their passions and career pathways.
Throughout the morning, mentors and fellows rotated between four classrooms, sharing their career experiences and learning about challenges and opportunities that students face in Sierra Leone. The mentors and fellows encouraged the students to be tenacious, remain curious and start thinking about their futures. Mentor Pamela O’Leary spoke about the diversity of careers within the tech field, saying, “With technology, you can create a job for yourself that doesn’t even exist yet.”
The delegates also had the opportunity to visit the school’s science lab, where fellows from CATHY are working with school leadership to update the lab and provide materials and equipment to better engage students in science activities. Before leaving for the day, 2018 fellow of Sierra Leone Sebay Momoh shared an encouraging message with a classroom: “We are often the only women in the room,” she said. “There is so much you can do if you enter the sciences. Please keep working hard, be consistent and do your best. We are here for you.”
Report Date...: 2/25/19
Mentors share their expertise at Women in Leadership Forum
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2013 - 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
At Wednesday’s Women in Leadership Forum, nearly 100 mentors, fellows and Sierra Leonean women leaders came together to discuss challenges and opportunities for women to step up as leaders and develop in their careers in science, technology and business fields. The morning’s program aimed to generate momentum to inspire, encourage and nurture the future generation of women leaders.
Seinya Bakarr, 2016 fellow of Sierra Leone, opened the conference speaking about gender differences, highlighting the fact that in Sierra Leone only 12% of parliamentarians are women – a signal of a more prevalent challenge in her country.
To address the lack of women in leadership positions, mentor Shawne van Deusen-Jeffries stressed during her TED-style talk the importance of speaking out for others: “We as women have the opportunity and obligation to enable other women.”
The panels that followed were themed around creating supportive communities, sharing best practices on how to succeed in male-dominated environments and mentoring other women. In the first panel, “Lifting up the next generation of women,” panelists discussed cultural differences, exploring the idea that historically, women are taught to be seen not heard. Trudy Morgan, president of Sierra Leone Women Engineers, shared her personal experience of feeling she needed to be tougher in front of men in order to prove her value. “The power structures haven’t changed,” she said, “but we as women should not change who we are in order to be what they want us to be.”
In the last panel of the day, “Finding and owning your voice,” fellow Sebay Momoh spoke about how she saw her life as a brand and that “we inspire more people than we think.” Habiba Wurie, a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme, also gave her insight encouraging her fellow women to “find your tribe, cultivate your tribe, maintain your tribe. The networks will eventually come.”
Report Date...: 2/25/19
Fellows and mentors coach young entrepreneurs at Pitch Night
Fellow(s): TechWomen delegation trip to Sierra Leone
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2013 - 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Special Report, Youth Engagement
Thursday’s Pitch Night and Startup Exhibition provided an opportunity for the delegation to engage with young women and adults to support them to learn the fundamentals of delivering an effective pitch. After explaining the core elements of a powerful pitch, 2018 fellow of Zimbabwe Natsai Mutezo led by example through demonstrating what a persuasive pitch looked like – a pitch that brought the audience in, made them imagine a scenario that they were directly involved in and brought them into the story.
Two groups of budding entrepreneurs were then asked to brainstorm a solution to an identified problem in their community and develop a pitch to sell their solution to the audience. In the young women’s group, one team chose to address the issue of trash disposal and its effect on both water sanitation and teenage pregnancy. With guidance from mentors and fellows, the girls identified a common thread, realizing that young women who go out late at night to fetch water are vulnerable to sexual violence and unplanned pregnancies. They discussed that if the community disposed of their waste responsibly, the water would be cleaner and the rate of teen pregnancy would decrease. Armed with their narrative, the girls pitched their proposal, which included leveraging local community leaders, educating young people and advocating for the safety of women at night. Although pitch winners were chosen at the end of the evening, the event was not about winning; it was about developing entrepreneurial skills, practicing teamwork and showing growing leaders that they have the ability to implement change in their communities.
Report Date...: 2/25/19
Fellow awarded international scholarship for women leaders
Fellow(s): Ainura Sagyn
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2017 fellow of Kyrgyzstan Ainura Sagyn was recently awarded the Toptal Scholarship for Women, a $10,000 prize to accelerate the careers and initiatives of female CEOs and founders. Ainura’s startup, WasteToWealth, aims to reduce litter and encourage re-use through an online platform where Bishkek citizens can sell recyclable waste. Alongside a Toptal mentor and machine learning expert, Ainura hopes to create an online feature that will help recognize specific plastics for more efficient recycling.
Ainura will use a portion of her Toptal funding to buy laptops for Technovation Coding Caravan, her project that will visit villages in rural Kyrgyzstan to put on four-day coding seminars for girls. She will also use the money to enroll in programming and machine learning courses from Udacity’s School of AI. With any remaining funding, Ainura hopes to travel to the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration, which she has dreamed about attending for many years.
Report Date...: 2/11/19
Fellow presents at urban design forum in Kigali
Fellow(s): Noella Nibakuze
Country: Rwanda
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth
2018 fellow of Rwanda Noella Nibakuze was a featured speaker at the 3rd National Urban Forum held this week in Kigali. Organized by Global Green Growth Institute, the conference focused on urban resilience, green cities and environmental sustainability. Noella, a design associate at MASS Design Group, spoke about how MASS balances social, economic and environmental aspects in their projects by using local and sustainable materials and promoting the economy of the areas where they work.
Noella outlined the need for more inclusive building processes that hire and train locally, allowing laborers to gain new skills and play an integral role in a city’s changing landscapes. As the only woman architect on the panel, Noella also advocated for increased visibility of women architects in urban design and urban planning spaces throughout Rwanda.
Report Date...: 2/11/19
2018 seed grant winners launch workshop outside of Harare
Fellow(s): Edith Mugehu, Natsai Mutezo, Nothando Ndlovu, Prudence Kadebu and Sandra Chipuka
Country: Zimbabwe
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, 2018 seed grant winners of Zimbabwe Edith Mugehu, Natsai Mutezo, Nothando Ndlovu, Prudence Kadebu and Sandra Chipuka kick-started their impact initiative, Vheneka/Khanyisa, in a farming community outside of Harare. Their project, which translates to “bringing light,” provides access to sustainable, affordable and reusable sanitary pads to women in disadvantaged communities.
After returning from TechWomen 2018, the team independently lab-tested sustainable and safe materials for their sanitary pad prototype. With outreach support from past TechWomen fellows, they held a workshop educating local women and girls on menstrual health and training them on making reusable pads. “We received amazing feedback from the girls,” says Natsai. “We asked if they felt able to make pads with materials from their home, and they all agreed that they could. They said our project was a welcome relief.”
Sixty percent of rural girls in Zimbabwe miss school each month due to their menstrual cycles. Through their workshops, Team Zimbabwe hopes to empower women and girls and remove a barrier to adolescent girls’ access to education. Vheneka/Khanyisa’s next training and workshop will be held on February 26 in Masvingo.
Report Date...: 1/28/19
