Monthly Archives: February 2012

WITU working to bridge the ‘Gender digital divide’ in Uganda

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Women in Technology Uganda (WITU), Feb meet up was held on 17th Feb with the theme “Ugandan Women in Technology: Opportunities and Challenges” at Makerere University in Kampala Uganda. Women in Technology is a forum that we founded with a focus is on finding real solutions to the long-standing problems of how to attract, retain and advance more women in the IT industry. Inspiring, leading and influencing the action to increase the number of women in IT The uneven distribution of Information and communication Technologies (ICTs) within societies and across the globe is resulting in a ‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’ between those who have access to information resources and those who do not. Women’ low levels of literacy and education relative to men as well as the negative attitude towards girls achievement in science related fields contributes to the gender dimension of the digital divide. Women still have a low degree of economic security than men and face gender related constraints on their time and mobility. They are therefore less likely to access, use and participate in shaping the course of ICTs compared to their male counterparts. The Status of Women and ICTs in Uganda In Uganda, Women’s awareness and usage of ICTs is nearly three times less than that of men (2006 ResearchICTAfrica ). An assessment of the Rural communication and Development Fund(RCDF) from a gender perspective undertaken by women of Uganda Network in 2007 revealed that the fact that women are key consumers in the privately owned computer training centres had nothing to do with gender targeting. Many of these females went for secretarial training or to learn elementary computer skills like Microsoft office applications to enhance their gender stereotyped roles of secretary. Women who were employed as trainers or lab attendants were the minority. As far as ownership management and control of private ICT business centres, Women were generally few. The study also revealed that although RCDF support to various ICT projects had facilitated further spread of ICT facilities and services to the less privilegedareas and its communities, women have benefited less from the projects as compared to their male counterparts. Without access to information technology, an understanding of its significance and ability to use it fo social and economic gain, Women are likely to be further marginalized from the mainstream of their communities, their country and the world (Nancy Hafkin and Nancy Taggart 2003). Meet our speakers of the Feb 2012 Meetup We tackled the opportunities and challenges that women in technology face, how we can explore these and solve the challenges to increase the number of women technologists e in Uganda. We had amazing young women who shared their experiences here; Barbara Birungi the Founder of WITU gave an overview of what WITU is and why it exists, she shared the vision, mission and purpose. She also welcomed all the members to the first meeting of the year. The sessions were chaired by Lynn Kirabo and Maureen Agena. RosebellKagumire a Multimedia Journalist and Human right Activists from Chanel 16 who runs a blog http://rosebellkagumire.com/ spoke about “Women and Media”. She shared her work experience while she still worked at the daily Monitor. She acknowledged that Technology and especially social media has increases opportunities for citizen to speak out a for journalists to share beyond the newsroom. She said that ordinary people without professional Journalism training can now use tools of modern Technology and the global distribution of internet to create, fact check and argument media. Rosebell believes that tools like twitter are now changing the “Agenda Setting” function of the media.Follow her on twitter @RosebellK Eunice Namirembe a program manager from Text to Change and ICT4D specialist talked about the “opportunities of Mobile Technology for women”. She said that it is evident that that there is a huge difference in terms of access, use, application and control of mobile phones between men and women. Whereas, we all agree that ICTs can enable both men and women to gain stronger voice in their communities and that mobile phones can specifically offer women flexibility in time and space, this is far from reality for many rural women here in Uganda. A big gender gap exists in accessing communication services. More men than women access/make use of ICTs because most ICT infrastructure is in the urban areas, where areas majority of the women/rural populations live in the rural areas. Given women’s multiple roles and heavy domestic responsibilities, their leisure hours are few and therefore need a tool that can effectively reduce the “distance” between them as individuals and institutions thereby making sharing of information and knowledge easier and more effective. The mobile phone comes in handy.It is believed that women, especially those in rural areas, are often left out in terms of technology and in sub-Saharan Africa alone, women are 24% less likely than men to own a mobile phone. And because of the high economic dependence of women on men mobile phones become relatively expensive for majority of rural women.Follow her on twitter @gnayeunie Evelyn Namara an entrepreneur, programmer and AfNOGChix trainer working with Solar sisters shared her experience from AfNOGChix about “Training Women in Technology”. She said that AfNOGChix was inspired by the desire to share technical challenges in setting up, building and running IP networks on the African continent. As a result, some of the pioneer Network Operators came together and established a network of key operators on the continent.The Africa Network Operators Group (AfNOG) is a forum for the exchange of technical information, and aims to promote discussion of implementation issues that require community cooperation. The reason as to why a lot of focus was on women was because Few women applied for the main AfNOG events;Women are a bit intimidated learning with male students; Women are hesistant to asked questions and finally Women usually relied on Male participants to finish up assignments. AFNOG therefore solves all these issues and bridges the gap by having women trained by women. Follow her on twitter @enamara Esther Patricia Akello an employee of Bank of Uganda who is so passionate about Information Security shared with us “what it means to work in a male dominated profession”. Esther said that, there are few women who study technology related courses and practice what they studied professionally. She attributed all this to the cultural socialization of women and the notion that women are made to believe that they cannot think or work technically. At the meeting, Esther encouraged young ladies who are passionate about technology to own up and stop complaining about the few numbers but rather make a difference and excel in their IT related professions. Follow her on twitter @ekisesta Last but not least was the Google ambassador and Appscircus 2012 Kampala winner Christine Ampire.As a second year software engineering student, Christine joined the AppsCircus competition and developed a mobile application called MafutaGo that saw her win in Kampala. Together with her team, she attended the recent MobileWorld Congress in in Barcelona and they won the RingMater ward.http://thenextweb.com/mwc/2012/02/27/the-mobile-premier-awards-announce-winners-at-mwc/ She said that the secret to all this was the spirit of teamwork and commitment regardless of your gender. She said that young girls have to get rid of fear if they are to excel in Technology. We strongly believe that women’s participation in the creation of technology will strengthen the workforce, raise the standard of living for many women, and help to assure that technology addresses women’s needs and expands the possibilities for their lives. For more details about WITU please contact us

Thanks to our sponsors; Hive Colab, UGOuganda, PC Techmagazine and Makerere University (Faculty of CIT)

By Maureen Agena

Women in Technology Uganda(WITU)

Cartier-Womens-Initiative-Awards

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The Cartier Women’s Initiative Award is a social entrepreneurship competition aimed at creative, financially sustainable and responsible women-led start-ups, in all countries and industries. Created in 2006 by Cartier in partnership with the Women’s Forum, INSEAD business school and McKinsey & Co., the Awards will be given this year to six Laureates in the following categories: Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, North America and Sub-Saharan Africa. Applications will be accepted until March 13, 2012. Entrepreneurs are invited to submit a short business plan using the online application form. The projects must be between one and three years old. The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards are looking for committed female entrepreneurs heading initiatives with the potential to grow significantly in the years to come. To apply for the 2012 edition, fill out the application form on www.cartierwomensinitiative.com. All applications must be submitted online in English. Application deadline: March 13, 2012 at 10am Paris time (CET). As it cannot be extended, please verify the corresponding deadline in your time zone. Eligibility Criteria The business project to be considered for the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards must be: An original for-profit business creation, In the start-up phase: at least one year old and no older than three years The main leadership position must be filled by a woman The competition is open to women from any country, nationality and industry.

2012 Grace Hopper Celebration Of Women In Computing (Call For Participation)

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By BJ Wishinsky (Community Manager, Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology)

The 12th annual Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC) has opened its Call for Participation.

GHC 2012

The annual conference, presented by the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, is the world’s largest gathering of women in computing.

The Grace Hopper Celebration will take place from October 3 – 6, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

This year’s theme “Are We There Yet?” recognizes that technology and the culture of technology are continuously evolving but there are also concrete goals we are striving to achieve.

Important Dates:

  • March 16, 2012: Deadline for submission of Program Abstract
  • May 17, 2012: Notifications
  • June 1, 2012: Registration Opens
  • June 25, 2012: Deadline for submission of Final Program Content

Submissions are being accepted in the following tracks:

  • Birds of a Feather (BOFs)
  • New Investigators Papers
  • Panels, Workshops and Presentations
  • PhD Forum
  • Posters and SRC Posters
  • Social Collaboration Track
  • Women of Underrepresented Groups Track

The organizing committees will review all abstracts submitted to the conference on the basis of a set of criteria, including the quality of the submission and its relevance to this conference, originality and scope of the subject matter.

For complete details,including links to the proposal template and sample proposals, see the Call for Participation page.


Puzzle for Policy Makers: How to Increase Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship BY SCOTT SHANE

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Across the globe, the gender gap in entrepreneurship remains stubbornly persistent. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2010 Women’s Report found that among the 59 countries in which data was collected, only women in Ghana have a higher rate of entrepreneurship than men. Similarly, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that in 2010, self-employment was more common among men than women in 27 of 29 countries in which information was gathered.The gender gap has been notably persistent in the U.S., where women accounted for the same share of self-employed heads of corporations in 2010 as in 1994 — 22 percent. How can policy makers reduce the longstanding disparity? The answer depends largely on why the gap continues. One explanation is that women face greater obstacles to company formation than men. If only it were that simple. The researchers for the GEM report found no statistically significant gender-related differences in barriers to business formation. Related: Women Entrepreneurs Put the Government in the Hot Seat Moreover, a variety of studies haven’t found any gender difference in the chances of getting financing, once the type of start-up business is factored in. For instance, manufacturing firms are more likely to be financed by outside sources, and men are more likely than women to start manufacturers. But once the different odds of men and women starting companies in industries like manufacturing are accounted for, there is no longer any difference in the chances of obtaining outside financing. In fact, women actually have greater access to start-up capital when self-financing is taken into consideration. Men and women have access to similar amounts of savings to finance their businesses, but women tend to start less capital-intensive companies than men. Policy makers could try to deal with one reason for the gender gap: differences in entrepreneurial capabilities. The GEM report indicates that women are much less likely than men to report having the necessary abilities for running their own businesses, particularly in developed countries. The authors of the report propose that policy makers can put in place programs that help women “build their capabilities for business ownership.” Of course, these efforts will run up against another major factor in the gender gap. Women are less likely than men to start businesses simply because they are less interested in running their own companies, the International Social Survey, conducted in more than 20 countries, shows. If women are less interested in starting businesses than men, they probably won’t be interested in programs that build entrepreneurial capabilities, either. Gender differences in preferences for entrepreneurship have persisted across several decades. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the University of California at Los Angeles has surveyed college students about their interest in running their own businesses annually since 1975. Consistently, their data has shown a stronger interest among men than women. In fact, that difference is greater now than it was in the mid-1970s. Related: Do Women Entrepreneurs Face Gender Discrimination? Gender differences in interest in entrepreneurship start early. One study by Marilyn Kourilsky, professor emerita at UCLA, and her colleagues showed a 14 percentage point gap in whether high school kids wanted to become business owners someday. It isn’t that women have more negative views of entrepreneurship as an occupation than men; they are just less interested in the job personally. The GEM report shows no statistical difference between men and women in whether they view entrepreneurship as a good career choice or whether successful entrepreneurs have high social status. Elected leaders can’t legislate a way to make more women want to start companies, particularly when gender differences emerge as early as grade school. Consequently, the gender gap in entrepreneurship is likely to persist for a long time to come.

picked from http://www.entrepreneur.com

Puzzle for Policy Makers: How to Increase Gender Equality in Entrepreneurship BY SCOTT SHANE

Posted on

Across the globe, the gender gap in entrepreneurship remains stubbornly persistent. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2010 Women’s Report found that among the 59 countries in which data was collected, only women in Ghana have a higher rate of entrepreneurship than men. Similarly, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that in 2010, self-employment was more common among men than women in 27 of 29 countries in which information was gathered.The gender gap has been notably persistent in the U.S., where women accounted for the same share of self-employed heads of corporations in 2010 as in 1994 — 22 percent. How can policy makers reduce the longstanding disparity? The answer depends largely on why the gap continues. One explanation is that women face greater obstacles to company formation than men. If only it were that simple. The researchers for the GEM report found no statistically significant gender-related differences in barriers to business formation. Related: Women Entrepreneurs Put the Government in the Hot Seat Moreover, a variety of studies haven’t found any gender difference in the chances of getting financing, once the type of start-up business is factored in. For instance, manufacturing firms are more likely to be financed by outside sources, and men are more likely than women to start manufacturers. But once the different odds of men and women starting companies in industries like manufacturing are accounted for, there is no longer any difference in the chances of obtaining outside financing. In fact, women actually have greater access to start-up capital when self-financing is taken into consideration. Men and women have access to similar amounts of savings to finance their businesses, but women tend to start less capital-intensive companies than men. Policy makers could try to deal with one reason for the gender gap: differences in entrepreneurial capabilities. The GEM report indicates that women are much less likely than men to report having the necessary abilities for running their own businesses, particularly in developed countries. The authors of the report propose that policy makers can put in place programs that help women “build their capabilities for business ownership.” Of course, these efforts will run up against another major factor in the gender gap. Women are less likely than men to start businesses simply because they are less interested in running their own companies, the International Social Survey, conducted in more than 20 countries, shows. If women are less interested in starting businesses than men, they probably won’t be interested in programs that build entrepreneurial capabilities, either. Gender differences in preferences for entrepreneurship have persisted across several decades. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program at the University of California at Los Angeles has surveyed college students about their interest in running their own businesses annually since 1975. Consistently, their data has shown a stronger interest among men than women. In fact, that difference is greater now than it was in the mid-1970s. Related: Do Women Entrepreneurs Face Gender Discrimination? Gender differences in interest in entrepreneurship start early. One study by Marilyn Kourilsky, professor emerita at UCLA, and her colleagues showed a 14 percentage point gap in whether high school kids wanted to become business owners someday. It isn’t that women have more negative views of entrepreneurship as an occupation than men; they are just less interested in the job personally. The GEM report shows no statistical difference between men and women in whether they view entrepreneurship as a good career choice or whether successful entrepreneurs have high social status. Elected leaders can’t legislate a way to make more women want to start companies, particularly when gender differences emerge as early as grade school. Consequently, the gender gap in entrepreneurship is likely to persist for a long time to come.

picked from http://www.entrepreneur.com

Sheryl Sandberg- Facebook’s highest paid employee!

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Mark Zuckerberg may be the face of Facebook. But Sheryl Sandberg can take much of the credit for the company’s success. As chief operating officer — and the self-described “grownup” in the room — she was also the highest-paid employee at the social networking site. Her salary and stock awards last year: a cool $30.87 million, putting her on pace to be one of the wealthiest self-made women in the world once the company goes public.

Sandberg, who’s second in command at Facebook, is often not just the grownup in the room, but also the only woman, which she finds mind-boggling. As she told an audience at TED in Washington, D.C., “One hundred and ninety heads of state; nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13% are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats, tops out at 15-16%. The numbers have not moved since 2002 and are going in the wrong direction.”

Sandberg, however, is moving in a trajectory that goes straight up: She studied economics at Harvard, where Lawrence Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary, took notice of her. He, as you may remember from “The Social Network,” was president of Harvard when Zuckerberg was a student.

Summers became her mentor, and after he left to lead the World Bank, he hired her, launching her stellar career. Sandberg eventually ended up at Google and was recruited by Zuckerberg in 2008. As described in a story for the New Yorker, the two met for dinner twice a week for six weeks. Sandberg’s husband described the courtship as “dating.” They were a match.

Facebook wasn’t always a Wall Street darling. When Sandberg started, the company had 70 million users and was losing money. Four years later, the company has reversed course, with 800 million-plus members; it’s profitable and soon to be a public company. She is said to be in charge ofeverything except the product - which is Zuckerberg’s baby.

Sheryl is married to David Goldberg, chief executive officer of Survey Monkey. They have two children and juggle the responsibility of parenting with the demands of work. The shared responsibility of child care made it possible for her continued success. As Sandberg told an audience last year, “The most important career choice you’ll make is who you marry.”

Not that she doesn’t feel pangs of guilt — far from it. The working mom admitted in the New Yorker profile: “I feel guilty working because of my kids.” But she advises women to take care of their careers and says “don’t leave before you leave.” As she said at TED, “Don’t leave the workforce to have kids and not return because you didn’t get that job you wanted before you left.”

To this end, the woman who stands to become a billionaire when Facebook goes public, also sees that she can’t succeed alone. In a commencement address to Barnard College graduates, she said, “We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.”

To be sure, Sandberg will not be overlooked or ignored.