Impact Stories from Empowering Women and Girls Policy Area
Fellows named Next Einstein Forum Ambassadors
Fellow(s): Chioma Ezedi, Sebay Momoh
Country: Nigeria, Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2013, 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, it was announced that 2016 fellow of Nigeria Chioma Ezedi and 2018 fellow of Sierra Leone Sebay Momoh were named to the 2019-2021 class of Next Einstein Forum Ambassadors. The NEF Ambassador program selects young technology and science champions from each African country to lead public engagement activities and partner with established mentors and researchers to advance their own careers in STEM.
Chioma, a software programmer and founder of STEMteers, is hoping to accelerate collaboration with other STEM advocacy groups, using the local dialect for outreach in order to make NEF’s Africa Science Week successful in every part of Nigeria. She is also eager to localize science advocacy in her community: “Nothing thrives if only a small percentage of the population understands it,” she says.
Sebay is a petroleum engineer and the program coordinator for STEM Women SL, an NGO that aims to improve science education in Sierra Leone. As a NEF ambassador, she will continue to advocate for quality science education in Sierra Leone. “I am passionate about creating the right ecosystem to nurture brilliant and innovative ideas of young scientists in Sierra Leone,” says Sebay. “I want to shine a light on young creative minds, source funding to help them improve on their ideas and also inspire others. The more people are exposed to opportunities of this nature, the more hands and minds we have to work together. There is power in collaboration.”
Report Date...: 12/2/19
Mentor(s): Sreedevi Rao (mentor)
Company: LinkedIn
Mentor Type: Professional
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, Professional Mentor Sreedevi Rao shared her takeaways as a TechWomen mentor at LinkedIn in a guest blog post published on the TechWomen website. The post, Breaking Boundaries in the Skies, outlines Sreedevi’s experience mentoring Emerging Leader Refilwe Ledwaba of South Africa, the founder of GFPA Foundation and the first African woman to earn a commercial helicopter pilot license.
Throughout the mentorship, Sreedevi and Refilwe collaborated to expand Refilwe’s skillsets, attending Toastmasters sessions together and connecting Refilwe to valuable contacts outside of LinkedIn. On her final day of the mentorship, Refilwe shared the changes she’d already implemented at her foundation. “While I was very proud to see her applying learnings so quickly and looking to what’s next, I knew I’d miss her infectious energy each day at work,” writes Sreedevi. “She is truly an inspiration and a role model; I’m lucky our professional paths have crossed. Being a mentor…is one of the most rewarding parts of my career.”
Report Date...: 11/25/19
Fellow hosts hackathon for justice at World Bank Group in DC
Fellow(s): Lindiwe Matlali
Country: South Africa, United States
Cohort: 2017
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This month, 2017 fellow of South Africa Lindiwe Matlali’s initiative Africa Teen Geeks collaborated with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Bank Group to hold a global #Hackathon4Justice in Washington, D.C. Hosted at the World Bank Headquarters, the three-day hackathon brought 25 students ages 13-18 from Bulgaria, India, Mexico, Tunisia and South Africa together to develop solutions to combat exploitation and promote peace in their home countries and beyond. TechWomen director Katie Zee, Professional Mentor Eileen Brewer, and three 2019 TechWomen fellows attended the event; Eileen provided coaching and mentorship to the country teams, guiding them in crystallizing their ideas and presenting their pitches.
Over the three days, the five student teams learned from World Bank and UNODC leaders as they developed innovative solutions that promoted inclusive societies and access to justice for all. A panel of judges, which included Amy Christianson from the Department of State, named Mexico the winner at the end of the hackathon: the team’s interactive game for young children will be able to send red flag warnings to teachers about potential domestic violence situations. As a prize, the team will travel to the UN’s 14th Crime Congress in Kyoto in April 2020 to present their app. At the conclusion of the event, Lindiwe addressed all teams, saying “I have been so inspired to hear all your ideas. When you go home, do the same and inspire your peers to make a difference.”
Report Date...: 11/18/19
Mentor(s): Shalaka Prabhune (mentor)
Company: TiVo
Mentor Type: Impact
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This week, TechWomen Impact Coach Shalaka Prabhune was awarded the gold Stevie Award for Digital Transformer of the Year. The Stevie Awards for Women in Business shine a spotlight on leading women executives, entrepreneurs and women-run organizations, recognizing their contributions to their respective industries. The winners were announced at the 16th annual awards dinner in New
York City.
This year, more than 1,500 nominations from organizations and individuals around the world were submitted; more than 200 members of seven juries determined the finalists and winners. Shalaka, the head of corporate IT at TiVo, was recognized under the HCL Red Ladder Women in Technology category, which recognizes women leaders who have positively impacted their industries while serving as role models for other women.
This year, Shalaka was an Impact Coach for team Jordan, who who won a 2019 seed grant for their mental health outreach platform, Sanad.
Report Date...: 11/18/19
Fellow featured as inspiring leader in STEM
Fellow(s): Bernadette Kargbo
Country: Sierra Leone
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
This month, 2018 fellow Bernadette Kargbo was featured by Nsesa Foundation for her work in civil engineering and her passion for investing in and mentoring girls and women. Nsesa, a STEM non-profit that educates and trains youth in Africa, features leaders in STEM fields for their ongoing “STEM Wow” series.
In her interview, Bernadette spoke about her journey to becoming station manager for Sierra Leone Water Company and providing safe access to drinking water for 25,000 people. She discussed her work as a project engineer for UNICEF’s WASH in Schools project, which focuses on providing water and sanitation facilities to over 200 schools across Sierra Leone. When asked about her greatest achievement, Bernadette said, “…my greatest achievement is my ‘transformed mindset.’ A greater credit goes to the TechWomen program that avails guidance and opportunities for me to maintain my passion and strengthen my scientific human capital.”
Report Date...: 11/11/19
Fellow’s company joins UN group committed to gender equality
Fellow(s): Aina Dosmakhambet
Country: Kazakhstan
Cohort: 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, it was announced that 2019 fellow Aina Dosmakhambet’s coding education company was admitted as a member of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP), a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact and UN Women. Out of 2660 companies with WEP status, only 13 are from Kazakhstan.
Companies that are approved for WEP are committed to gender equality in the workplace, taking measurable strides to increasing equity and inclusion through their services. Aina is the CEO of Method Digital Education, an Almaty-based IT school that provides education for both children and adults in coding, web design, game development, data analysis and more. Their Girls Coding Class provides a space for young girls to develop both their technical and leadership skills, and includes leadership lessons from women entrepreneurs and excursions to local IT companies to meet successful women in tech.
Report Date...: 11/11/19
Three alumnae teams awarded 2019 AEIF grants
Fellow(s): Chepkemoi Magdalene, Nazira Sheraly, Aiturgan Zulpukarova, Elena Chigibaeva, Gulzire Minbaeva, Fatima Abdulaziz Sule, Olayinka Ayo, Safiya Aliyu, Pamela Chukwumeka, Ijeoma Ezika
Country: Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria
Cohort: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
This week, it was announced that three TechWomen alumnae teams were awarded a U.S Department of State 2019 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) grant. The alumnae projects, based out of Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and Nigeria, were selected out of more than 1,400 project submissions.
Kenya’s North-Rift Women in STEM Inclusion Project , co-led by 2019 fellow Chepkemoi Magdalene, will host bootcamps on coding and the digital economy for nearly 500 underserved women and girls in the North Rift region of the country. The team also plans to award 30 of the participants a year-long mentorship opportunity. Kyrgyzstan’s TechAim was created by 2016 fellow Nazira Sheraly, 2017 fellow Aiturgan Zulpukarova and 2018 fellows Elena Chigibaeva and Gulzire Minbaeva. The mentorship program supports women and girls, particularly those outside of the capital city, to grow and develop their STEM skills and expand their knowledge in business, leadership project management and more. MAAMI Nigeria, originally a TechWomen 2018 seed grant-winning initiative from fellows Fatima Abdulaziz Sule, Olayinka Ayo, Safiya Aliyu, Pamela Chukwumeka and Ijeoma Ezika, is a mobile health literacy program that aims to provide underserved mothers access to safe, relevant and customized pre- and post-natal health information.
Report Date...: 11/4/2019
Mentor(s): Heather Richbourg
Company: University of California, San Francisco
Mentor Type: Professional
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Growth
Last month, TechWomen Professional Mentor Heather Richbourg was recognized with the UCSF Chancellor Award for Advancement of Women. Each year the award recognizes and honors one faculty, one staff and one student at UCSF who have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, inclusion and advancing other women in their field and beyond.
Heather is a NIH-funded postdoctoral researcher in the department of Orthopedic Surgery at UCSF, focusing on studying genetic variations contributing to craniofacial and brain defects during early development. This year, she mentored Emerging Leaders Hanan Khalil of Jordan and Rudo Siwela of Zimbabwe. In her UCSF video feature, Heather said, “I think it’s so important to promote women in sciences. I’ve always been so inspired to help other women when so many women paved the way for women like me to be able to do what I love and do great research.”
Report Date...: 11/4/2019
Fellow inspires youth at Model United Nations gathering
Fellow(s): Sarah Abdallah
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2016
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth, Youth Engagement
Last month, 2016 fellow Sarah Abdallah was invited to Dubai to deliver a keynote address at the Arab Youth International Model United Nations conference. The annual conference brings together youth throughout the Arab world, facilitating conversation on creating change and peace worldwide. Together, the young delegates debated global issues, created responses to global crises and participated in activities that celebrated cross-cultural exchange.
Sarah is the CEO of LIBRO, a company that addresses youth unemployment challenges in the MENA region by providing training, consulting and recruitment services for universities and companies in STEM fields. In her keynote, Sarah addressed the challenges youth face today, sharing specific setbacks she faced as a young person. She stressed, however, that young people have a powerful voice and a unique ability to create exponential change in their communities. “I explained how young people can turn their problems into opportunities,” she said. Sarah concluded her keynote with an activity called “Inclusion Starts with an ‘I,’” tasking each young person to write down an action they can take to make the world a better place. “I added in my own as well,” says Sarah. “I committed to support the youth of today in becoming the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow.”
Report Date...: 10/21/19
Fellows shares advice for women in tech on BBC Africa
Fellow(s): Sylvia Mukasa
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2014
Policy Area(s): Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Growth
This week, 2014 fellow Sylvia Mukasa was a guest on BBC Africa, speaking about the hurdles women in tech face and sharing best practices for how women can thrive in a male-dominated tech environment.
Sylvia is the CEO of GlobalX Investments and GlobalX Innovation Labs, specializing in emerging enterprise technologies and supporting youth and entrepreneurs in learning 21st century skills. In her interview, Sylvia was asked about the challenges African women face in the tech world. “Organizations have not put in place policies that ensure there is a good representation of women, especially at senior and board levels” she said. “We need policies that are inclusive of everyone to ensure that women know they are protected and wanted in that space.” She concluded her interview with top tips for women in tech, encouraging them to expand their network and prioritize building their skills in order to become competitive job candidates.
Report Date...: 10/21/19
