Sweden asks China to cooperate over severed cables    Childcare worker who abused more than 60 girls jailed for life    Indian airlines hit by nearly 1,000 hoax bomb threats    Georgia postpones EU membership bid until 2028    K-Pop group NewJeans split from agency in mistreatment row    Lulu opens new store in Al Fakhriyah, Dammam as it further strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia New Lulu stores are set to open in Makkah and Madinah    Defending the Truth: Saudi Arabia and the 2034 World Cup    UNCCD COP16 will witness ministerial dialogues to address global land degradation The conference to host first dual-track dialogue on environmental issues    Culture minister visits Diriyah Art Futures    Saudi Arabia calls for enhanced international cooperation to address water sector challenges    GCC Preparatory Ministerial Meeting discusses developments in Gaza and Lebanon    RCRC Chief: Riyadh Metro, featuring environmental sustainability, will improve quality of life and revolutionize transportation    Saudi Arabia hosts over 13 million foreign residents from 60 countries, says human rights official    Al Taawoun seals AFC Champions League Two knockout spot with 2-1 win over Al Khaldiya    Elon Musk publicizes names of government employees he wants to cut    Al-Jasser: Riyadh Metro to accommodate one million passengers daily    Al Hilal advances to AFC Champions League knockout stage despite 1-1 draw with Al Sadd    Best-selling novelist Barbara Taylor Bradford dies    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Women now make up some 35% of technical entrepreneurs in the region
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 10 - 03 - 2020

Microsoft Arabia was one of the keynote speakers at the 2nd Women Enablement in Technology Sector Summit. The focus of the summit is encouraging and training more women to enter the exciting world of information and communications technology (ICT).
This summit is aligned with the Saudi Vision 2030 and aligns perfectly with Microsoft's own mission to empowering people and organizations to achieve more. The summit, which is hosted by the Saudi Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, is being held at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center here on March 8.
Events that work towards equipping women with the training and skills they need to be successful in sectors like ICT are becoming increasingly important and for good reason. As Niamh Spelman, Microsoft's head of services in the Middle East and Africa, points out — "the world of technology will benefit significantly from greater diversity" when it comes to gender.
Notably, in the Middle East females make up less than 10% of the region's technical workforce. However, as part of its Vision 2030, the Saudi government is determined to change this and has launched a range of initiatives to ensure it happens. The Women Enablement in Technology Sector Summits are part of this initiative and bring together stakeholders and experts in the field from around the globe for a day of discussions, workshops, and presentations.
As mentioned, "empowering women to do more" aligns closely with Microsoft mission. Over the past few decades, the company has developed and implemented a number of pathways and programs designed to educate, upskill, and equip more women to take up the challenge of careers in the technical and communications sector. Microsoft Arabia therefore regards this as an important opportunity to share their experience and knowledge in this area with other like-minded professionals and organizations.
Spelman's talk at the summit focused on "unleashing the power of women" and she said it will bring numerous "tangible benefits" to families, local communities, national, and global economies. She further maintained that ‘increasing women's employment in MENA could increase household incomes by 25%." Microsoft Arabia is ideally positioned to help make this happen.
At the summit, Ms. Spelman announced the Microsoft DigiGirlz initiative 2020 which will be in partnership with MCIT and Think Tech. DigiGirlz, is one of Microsoft's efforts to invest in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) education for women and build a pipeline of future workers ready for the challenges of the global economy.
The initiative will be launched in 3 cities during this year (Riyadh, Jeddah & the Eastern Province). The first stage of this initiative, Train The Trainer, has already been accomplished with the training of 90 Saudi trainers, who will then train and support students who participate in DigiGirlz events.
The second phase is using MS Minecraft Education to train some 600 female students from intermediate schools in those cities, thus opening new career pathways in the ITC sector. The result should be to encourage young women to explore careers in technology and create a steady stream of capable, highly educated women in the sector.
When asked whether initiatives like these, and events like the Women Enablement in Technology Sector Summits, been successful in this regard, she said, "Current indications are that there have been some significant impacts made around skilling and employment of Saudi Arabian women with a projection of over 63,000 new jobs being created between 2017 and 2022."
"Over 1 and a half million Saudi students have taken part in the Hour of Code, a Computer Science Education Week and Code.org global initiative that reaches millions of students every year. Almost 30,000 training and skilling events have been held and more than 50,000 trainers have obtained various certifications through those events. There are now more than 30,000 teachers with certified training on Microsoft technologies."
Ms. Spelman said that women now make up some 35% of the technical entrepreneurs in the region. That's a considerable achievement and demonstrates that there is demand among women with technical backgrounds to explore careers in the sector. — SG


Clic here to read the story from its source.