International Girl’s in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day is observed on the 4th April of every year. Although, observably, this date is still a far way off, I have chosen to write about this topic inspired by the Guyana Animation Network (GAN).
The Guyana Animation Network, for those who may not know, is a non-governmental organisation formed in 2016, with the aims of creating, animating, innovating and supporting those who did. The network provides a service previously unheard of in Guyana. Through its existence, it provides a community for artists to connect, and develop skills in new media. The founder, Ms Jubilanté Cutting, was in fact inspired to make a difference in the animation community following session she attended for Girls in ICT Day 2014.
One of the projects that GAN has decided to undertake is increasing the involvement of Girls in ICT. To achieve this, during the month of October, volunteers will enter high schools, working with girls from Forms One to Six, teaching them about the opportunities in ICT, and other women, nationally, regionally and internationally within the field. Then, the girls will be challenged to propose a business idea, and will be given mentorship from professionals within the community as to how to make this idea a reality. This includes designing a website and/or app, launching social media pages, producing a budget, among others. The girls will then participate in an interschool competition, where their businesses are pitted against each other. The entire programme promises to be a fun, engaging way to pique the interest of young girls in ICT fields, while simultaneously showing them the ubiquity of technology in today’s world.
Why are such programmes important? As I have stated before in previous articles, less women than men enter the STEM fields. The reason for this is complex. Some argue that fewer women are interested in STEM fields, and chalk the difference up to personal choice. However, I believe that one of the driving reasons for this gap is what we are conditioned to believe from a young age. If a girl grows up hearing that technology is a “man’s world”, or becomes accustomed to being told that girls are naturally better at reading and worse at Maths, or even notices that in her Computer Science class, she is encouraged less than her male counterparts, she may become less inclined to enter STEM fields. These discouraging experiences only continue in higher education and in the workplace. Initiatives such as Girls in ICT Day, aim to undo the damage that has been done. They work to show girls that technology is not a man’s world, by highlighting successful women within the field. This helps to empower young girls, because they begin to see that if one woman can accomplish this, then why can’t I? This helps to build their self-confidence.
It changes how they react to certain situations: for example, instead of accepting it when her teacher ignores her questions, (and those of her female classmates), she will begin to challenge this behaviour. This shift in behaviour is exactly what we need to happen. We need more girls to question when they are being discriminated against. We need more girls to be so sure of themselves, and their capabilities, that when obstacles arise, they do not become discouraged, but rather become even surer that they need to enter STEM fields so that they can become instrumental in breaking stereotypes. Initiatives like these help to show girls that they are not the problem, that they are not inferior, and that they can achieve just as much as a boy can within technology fields.
