Impact Stories from Professional Development Policy Area
Fellow shares inspirational journey on BBC Sounds Podcast
Fellow(s): Baratang Miya (South Africa, 2015)
Country: South Africa
Cohort: 2015
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development, Youth Engagement
Fellow shares inspirational journey on BBC Sounds Podcast
Fellow Baratang Miya (South Africa, 2015) was recently featured as a guest on BBC Sounds Podcast “Women leading the tech revolution in Africa” episode, where she discussed her journey into tech, the power of teaching women and girls how to code and the sociocultural, infrastructural and policy changes needed to make that possible. “Walking into a board room with men [who] judge you and tone you down,” she confided,” really made me cry at some points… [and] I feel like it’s what keeps women behind. I used to be very emotional about that. I’m not anymore.” When asked how she overcame this struggle, Baratang explained that “the mindset and the policy issues are not going to change unless I become the most powerful and strong woman [and] can withstand the rocks that come my way. …And once I started taking it as it comes and telling myself, I’m going to sit in the boardroom and say, ‘we have to talk about women and girls,’ then I started hearing my voice getting stronger and seeing the change. It became a passion for me. Change is what I do.” Baratang is the founder of Girlhype Coders Academy, which has taught more than 1,000,000 women and girls how to code. She is also the founder of Women Tech Policy Hub (WTPH), which trains leading women in STEM in policy entrepreneurship through fellowship and executive education. Founded in 2022, the fellows of the WTPH include a vast number of women from the TechWomen community, including at least fourteen fellows from Cameroon, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. Baratang was also named among the 50 People Who Made the Internet a Better Place in 2016 and regularly serves as a technology writer, judge, speaker and advisor in tech competitions and hackathons.
Read More »Report Date...: 3/20/2023
Fellow contributes to Middle East Inst. energy report
Fellow(s): Jessica Obeid (Lebanon, 2012)
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2012
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow contributes to Middle East Inst. energy report
Fellow Jessica Obeid (Lebanon, 2012) contributed to a recently published Middle East Institute (MEI) report, “Economic Diversification, Energy Transition, and the Labor Market in Iraq and the Gulf,” offering insights and analyses from a workshop hosted by the MEI and the Iraq Policy Group. The workshop, held last fall, was centered on building mutual understanding of fiscal challenges, future growth and policy recommendations for energy security and economic governance in Iraq and was attended by government representatives, economic and energy experts, international development specialists, and a youth cohort. Jessica is an energy expert with 15 years of experience in engineering, thinks tanks and consulting in EMEA, contributing to the development of sustainable energy systems. She is the founder of New Energy Consult in Dubai and a non-resident scholar for the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. She is also a Senior Global Advisor for Azure Strategy in London, England, where she currently resides. She recently spoke at the 44th International Association for Energy Economics Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where she discussed Circular Carbon Economy in MENA countries.
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Report Date...: 3/30/2023
Mentor speaks at Tradewinds Conference in Bangkok
Fellow(s): Mentor Jeannice Fairrer Samani
Country:
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development
Mentor speaks at Tradewinds Conference in Bangkok
Mentor Jeannice Fairrer Samani, CEO of digital transformation firm Fairrer Samani Group, recently spoke on a panel at the TradeWinds ASEAN conference in Bangkok, Thailand, where she shared her insights on trade and how governments can support women’s economic empowerment. Jeannice was joined on the panel by Under Secretary of Commerce Marisa Lago, as well as the CEO of MULA-X and the Country Manager for Pfizer. Organized by the U.S. Commercial Service, Trade Winds brings together U.S. commercial diplomats from over 20 countries in Asia for meetings, panels, networking and other engaging programming for the largest U.S. government-led trade mission and business development forum of its kind.
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Report Date...: 3/30/2023
Fellow initiative named in Young Global Changemakers Top 50
Fellow(s): Rim Assaad (Lebanon, 2018)
Country: Lebanon
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow initiative named in Young Global Changemakers Top 50
Rim Assaad (Lebanon, 2018) has recently been named one of the Top 50 semifinalists for the Young Global Changemakers Recoupling Awards 2023, which recognizes young enterprisers from all over the world who institute tangible, youth-led initiatives contributing towards community economic prosperity by environmentally sustainable means. She is recognized as executive director of RISE2030, a community-led initiative managed by Sustain The World NGO in Lebanon, of which Rim is president and co-founder, and SEFY international NGO in the US, on which Rim serves as a board member. RISE2030 focuses on empowering women and youth through capacity building education and employment and has recently been recognized for launching the first all-women solar team in Lebanon to lead a complete installation project. RISE2030 has led the training of more than 1,250 female technicians and engineers who installed solar photovoltaic systems for multiple facilities such as wastewater treatment plant, waste recycling facilitiy, waste sorting and material recovery facility, solar tree in a public park, women cooperatives and MSMEs.
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Report Date...: 3/13/2023
Fellow speaks at ICRC panel
Fellow(s): Salome Gathoni (Kenya, 2018)
Country: Kenya
Cohort: 2018
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Professional Development
Fellow speaks at ICRC panel
Fellow Salome Gathoni (Kenya, 2018) recently spoke on an ICT career panel in Geneva, Switzerland for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Women in Tech (WiT) initiative. As the ICT Coordinator for the ICRC field operations in Somalia, Salome addressed “how technology drives humanitarian footprints and operations for the benefit of remote communities, despite the challenges that come in armed conflict contexts,” she explained in a recent post. The ICRC event, attended by global internal and external ICT leaders, technology experts and executives, was centered on strategizing the use of digital advancements on the execution of humanitarian operations and aid initiatives that benefit individuals impacted by armed conflict. Salome joined the ICRC in June of 2021 at the launch of the WiT initiative. She has been actively involved as a Program Co-Leader, where she plans activities, coordinate events and invites guest speakers to mentor and inspire the women in ICT. “I appreciate my TechWomen experience,” she shares, “for not only exposing me to many career insights, but also enlightening me on many ways to drive impactful community programs leveraging the power of partners & networks.”
Read More »Report Date...: 3/13/2023
Fellow(s): Zharkyn Chsheglova, Abeer Albashiti, Ichraf Jarray, Kseniia Tysganova and Racha Friji
Country: Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
WomenTechMakers Conference features five fellows
Five 2022 fellows banded together to contribute to the recent WomenTechMakers Conference held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on March 11, International Women’s Day. Zharkyn Chsheglova (Kazkahstan) served as a moderator, while Abeer Albashiti (Jordan), Ichraf Jarray (Tunisia), Kseniia Tysganova (Kyrgyzstan) and Racha Friji (Tunisia) all served as speakers at the event. Themes of the conference included User Interface and Experience (UI/UX), GIS, Mobile, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Web, Decentralized Crypto, Design, Firebase, Cloud, Google Actions, Tech Entrepreneurship, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality (VR/AR), Security and Architecture.
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Report Date...: 3/13/2023
Fellow selected to join Forbes Technology Council
Fellow(s): Oluwatobi (Tobi) Otokiti (Nigeria, 2022)
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
In her role on the Forbes Technology Council, Tobi will serve as a Forbes contributing writer.
Fellow Oluwatobi (Tobi) Otokiti (Nigeria, 2022), founder of Product Dive, has recently been selected for the Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for global CIOs, CTOs, and tech executives. Through a competitive committee selection process, Forbes Councils assembles accomplished leaders from various fields into a community that offers opportunities for professional growth and enables members to have a more significant influence on the business world. As a part of this role, Tobi will offer her perspective as a product management professional, serving as a contributing writer for Forbes articles such as this recent collaborative write-up on wearable technology. “I’m glad to expand my network to share, learn and give back to the global tech community as an experienced product manager,” Tobi shared in a recent post. “Technology is constantly changing with a growing trend in AI, ChatGPT, Web3, Cloud and more.”
Read More »Report Date...: 3/5/2023
Fellow recognized as trailblazer in Egyptian geology
Fellow(s): Sara Fakhry Elokda (Egypt, 2022)
Country: Egypt
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Sarah speaks on eXtra news TV about her journey to becoming one of Egypt’s earliest female well-site geologists at a rig site.
Fellow Sara Fakhry Elokda (Egypt, 2022) has recently gained media recognition on several news platforms for her distinction as one of the first female field geologists in Egypt. In recent weeks, she has been interviewed by Egypt’s eXtra news, DMC TV, Oil News and the Women of Egypt Network. Through these outlets, she has shared the inspirational story of becoming one of the first women in her country to serve as a well-site geologist and how this led her to apply and be selected as an Emerging Leader for TechWomen. She also shares her opportunity to speak in Washington D.C. on a panel discussion during a luncheon addressed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Since returning to Egypt, Sarah has been active in spreading the message of her experience with TechWomen to encourage other women to apply for the program.
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Report Date...: 3/5/2023
Fellow Ph.D. thesis studies EM waves for green energy
Fellow(s): Tolulope Erinosho (Nigeria, 2022)
Country: Nigeria
Cohort: 2022
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development
Fellow Ph.D. thesis studies EM waves for green energy
Fellow Tolulope Erinosho (Nigeria, 2022) has recently completed her Ph.D. thesis on the “Analysis of thin-wire-based RECTENNAs for efficient harvesting of electromagnetic waves energy” at the University of Lagos. Tolulope’s work seeks to increase the output voltage of electromagnetic harvesting systems by enhancing the power of existing designs. This research addresses the recycling of wasted radio frequency (RF) signals, which have proliferated the airspace environment as a result of the massive adoption of wireless devices resulting out of the technological revolution. “Sustainable Development Goal 7 of the United Nations is centered on clean energy solutions as an alternative to fossil fuel,” Tolulope shared in a recent post. “[This is] the motivation for harnessing free RF signals from the ambient environment and recycling [them] into usable DC voltage.” Tolupe went on to thank the TechWomen program and Professional Mentor Cynthia Leung and Collette Zaro, as well as the entire Moxion Power team, for their technical input on her research during her recent program in the U.S.
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Report Date...: 2/20/2023
Mentors collaborate for women entrepreneurs
Fellow(s): Mentor Rekha Pai
Country:
Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Professional Development
Mentors collaborate for women entrepreneurs.
On Feb 8, mentor Rekha Pai led a pre-summit workshop for the ECA’s Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in 11 countries in East Asia and the Pacific, with the support of seven other TechWomen mentors — Julia Lovin, Jill Finlayson, Shachi Patel, Sandra Chen, Mohna Dhomse, Sarasija Parthasarthy and Meg Gordon. Together these mentors facilitated two breakout sessions designed to help attendees clarify target markets and customer segments, and craft unique value proposition statements and competitive positioning. Participants expressed deep appreciation for how these activities helped them develop key decisions about their business models. The event and workshop were supported by the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and included participants from Brunei, Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam. Rekha is the founder of a non-profit women’s accelerator, Launch-HER, which gives women entrepreneurs from emerging markets access to free curriculum, resources, community and funding networks made of impact investors and impact VC funds.
Read More »Report Date...: 2/20/2023
