MTC honours women in tech
Mobile Telecommunications hosted the second edition of the MTC Women in Tech Conference at Palm Hotel in Windhoek from 19 to 20 July.The conference is a women-led internal employee initiative with the objective to empower and increase women’s prominence in the tech space. Gender parity, especially in sectors such as IT, plays a significant role in increasing fair, competitive and egalitarian practices in the field.
The conference touched on various pressing issues such as horizontal career growth, mental health, embracing social media visibility, emerging technologies, mobile technologies and financial literacy. Whether it’s analysing gender dynamics in digital access, leadership roles in technology or IT visibility, men statistically tend to be more significantly represented.
In Africa, the gender gap in internet access stands at about 50% (as of 2020).
This means that about half of African women have to bear disadvantaged access to information, products and technology enabled by the internet.
Thus, events such as Women in Tech champion equality by bringing women’s occupational issues to light and making them a worthy issue of discussion and uniform importance.
Open doors
Speaking on the topic 'Avoiding Mental Spam', Albertine Shipena highlighted the importance of women not only being mentors to one another but also being willing to open doors for other women while putting their reputation on the line. Women acting as sponsors for one another and vouching for fellow IT and tech colleagues is the next big step towards equity in the workplace. In addition to Shipena’s sentiments, Nashilongo Gervasius and Professor Anicia Peters highlighted the significance of a monumental tech-based conference for women in Namibia.
Often, female tech innovators are requested internationally, but their voices are not as widely broadcast locally. Echoing her sentiment on the current state of IT, MTC chief technical and information officer, Dr Monica Nehemia, said engagements such as the Women in Tech conference will assist more women to not only excel in the IT sector but also open the door for other women to enter.
“It is encouraging to see more women taking up and ploughing their trade in the ICT sector. When I see women showing great interest in software development, understanding hardware, coding, and being confident in bringing ideas to the table, it gives a sense of belonging in IT and inspires the young girl who wants to do IT," she said.
"It might sound insignificant, but seeing people who represent what you represent, women who stand for what you stand for... that reminds me that I don’t just work in IT. I show up for so many people who need to see corporate female leaders in real life. Promoting leading female voices in IT via events such as MTC Women in Tech is not only empowering the current women players but is also inspirational to IT aspiring young women who need to see female leaders that not all of us got to have.”