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A group of women from some of the world’s leading tech companies are in South Africa to meet the country’s leaders in the information, communications and technology industry to discuss women’s roles in the sector.
The 40 or so women are part of a touring US-based initiative called TechWomen that empowers women in Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East in STEM fields through mentorship and exchange.
“The idea is to bridge connections and encourage women and girls to pursue careers in Stem,” said TechWomen representative Kelsi Ward.
The delegation, which are in South African for a week, included Twitter’s vice-president for engineering, Nandini Ramani. Professionals from companies such as Symantec and Juniper Networks were also represented.
Alongside meeting key players across South Africa the female tech experts also hosted workshops on social media, programming and business strategies, for girls interested in participating in STEM.
Ramani spoke about programming and opportunities for women in technology. “I’m here to learn and share some of my own experiences,” she said. “I grew up in India where there are a lot of obstacles for women and I still persevered. I fully believe technology is as important as good clean water and housing.”
