GetBundi launches TechSis to bridge gender gap in tech sector

By Olivia Nnorom

GetBundi Education Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of GetBundi Education Technology Limited, has committed to the online training of 500 African women in coding through the launch of an initiative, tagged ‘TechSis 2023’.

The programme, scheduled to hold from June 1 to August 31, 2023, is a reversal of the male-dominated industry known as ‘Tech Bros’, aimed to bridge the digital skill gender inequality in Africa.

According to the education technology  platform, the coding courses which will be at no cost to the participants, come amidst a huge gap in digital skills in Africa, particularly among women, especially at a time when digital skills and tools have become increasingly essential to access services such as health, education, social protection, and financial services.

Juliet Ijei, course coordinator, GetBundi Education Technology and GetBundi Education Foundation, said free registration for the Coding courses will start on April 24 and end on May 23, 2023 or after the first 500 women must have registered.

Speaking on the rationale behind TechSis, Ijei said it was in an effort to give women and girls a better deal in the tech industry dominated by men and also prepare them to assume their rightful place at the heights of the new economy.  She also noted that the initiative will enable women and girls to learn programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, Scratch, and Ethical Hacking.

“The tech industry is no doubt a male-dominated career area across the world, and Africa is no exception. Research reveals that only 30 percent of African women make up the tech industry, which signifies that they are highly underrepresented,” she said.

The course coordinator pointed out that despite the overwhelming percentage of women in the African continent, available data reveals that only very few are in the digital and technology space compared to men, with women in the tech space making up only about 22 percent of the industry workforce in Nigeria.

Ijei attributed bias and stereotypes as factors that continually pose obstacles to women being properly represented in the technology industry, adding that women often show reluctance to take up tech-related degrees or any tech-related skills, leaving males to dominate many tech companies.

This, according to her, implies that women in sub-Saharan Africa have a high risk of missing out on the jobs of the future, with an estimated 230 million jobs in the region requiring digital skills by 2030.

“This female digital exclusion, a phenomenon where women and girls are disproportionately left behind in accessing and using digital technologies and services, is a pervasive problem hindering the realization of a fully inclusive digital future,” she said.

Ijei  added that the GetBundi  foundation will ensure the effective inclusion of women in the tech sector, by organizing the TechSis initiative annually in different areas of digital skills.