Young girls in ICT are celebrated around the globe
Kishugu Business School recently hosted an event at Hoërskool Bergvlam to celebrate girls in ICT.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of International Girls in ICT Day on April 28.
Kishugu Business School took this opportunity to host a handful of learners from around the city at Hoërskool Bergvlam. Here they got the chance to listen to experts in the information and communication technology field and how they might enter the industry.
The theme of this year’s Girls in ICT virtual panel is “Connected Girls, Creating Brighter Futures” and the session aims to encourage more girls and young women to actively pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math careers to bridge the gender digital divide.
Celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday in April, Girls in ICT Day is a global movement observed by the United Nations. Kishugu said, “As the ICT sector is typically considered a male-dominated industry, the day is a great way to draw attention to the critical need for more women in the sector.
“For South Africa especially, there is a need for people with these skills. Since it was established in 2010, the day has generated over 11 000 events in 171 countries, reaching more than 350 000 young women.
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“At Kishugu we believe that technology is one of the most powerful tools we have for empowering women and girls. An ICT career gives girls the chance to be at the heart of the world’s most exciting and fastest-growing industry.”
The speakers included Brenda Lindiwe Mabaso, Louise Fullard, Sinazo Matyila and Welcome Magagula. Coming from various backgrounds and branches of the ICT sector, all these speakers had their own bit of knowledge to share with the learners in attendance.
Mabaso holds a master’s degree in business administration and is currently doing her doctorate with the University of Northampton in the United Kingdom. Her thesis deals with gender diversity in the ICT space. She shared some life experiences and highlighted the challenges and obstacles that successful women in the ICT sector face.
She emphasised the fact that women are confronted with the digital divide, discrimination, lack of digital expertise, poverty and inequalities and negative perceptions. She encouraged girl learners to take the bold step towards transforming the ICT sector leadership – currently only 28% of women hold leadership positions at the world’s top 10 technology companies.
Mabaso is the founder and director of the Mentorship Academy, an organisation established and aligned to the United Nations Generation Equality Movement. Fullard is a language teacher at Bergvlam and incorporates technology into her classroom daily. She was a national teaching award-winner in 2020.
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She said the 21st century requirements for education entail the merging of critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration, and warned that educators who fail to incorporate technology will rob their learners and themselves of divine career destinies.
Matyila is a lecturer at the school of computing and mathematical sciences at the University of Mpumalanga and holds a master’s degree in computer science, specialising in software engineering and distributed systems. She shared with the attendees how she had to build her career from humble beginnings, being a girl who comes from the rural settings of Eastern Cape.
She discussed various study options that learners have in the ICT field and also highlighted the possibilities of getting credits for programmes that have international and South African Qualification Authority accreditations.
Lastly, Magagula, born and bred in Nkomazi, started off his career in the communications field and holds a bachelor’s degree in communications. He is also a qualified electronic engineer.
Magagula highlighted countless opportunities available in the field of ICT and its ability to rapidly recover the economy of South Africa.
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