{"id":53090,"date":"2024-09-27T16:55:14","date_gmt":"2024-09-27T08:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/asia-pacific\/?p=53090"},"modified":"2025-12-11T22:57:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T14:57:48","slug":"vicky-zhang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/about-us\/regions\/asia-pacific\/general\/changetheface\/vicky-zhang\/","title":{"rendered":"Complex solutions for a complex problem: Supporting women in tech along three key dimensions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Vicky Zhang, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Huawei Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People have been talking for decades about how to support women in tech. There has been progress, but sometimes the issue can seem intractable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m proud to work for a company whose Women in Tech initiative has benefited thousands of women around the world. I have been involved in this initiative from its inception, and I continue to participate in activities that support women in three main areas.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, regardless of whether they work in ICT, women often lack the technical skills needed to succeed in business. Second, women are under-represented in the tech industry itself. Third, tech is not being leveraged sufficiently to protect women\u2019s health and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tech with<\/em> Her: Closing the skills gap<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women often lack the technical skills they need to succeed in business, even if they don\u2019t work in the ICT field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to this deficit, Huawei has developed training programs based on local needs. In Ghana, we provide ICT skills training at high schools and universities; in South Africa, we train women entrepreneurs in Cloud-based services; in Greece, we train unemployed women to help them find jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huawei works with universities worldwide to establish more than 2,600 Huawei ICT Academies, whose programs train more than 200,000 students annually and attract a growing number of women each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, we run programs focusing on countries such as Bangladesh, where women in rural areas are at risk of being left behind. As of year-end 2023, 166,000 Bangladeshi women had acquired basic digital skills through Huawei\u2019s Digital Training Bus<\/a> project. Training takes place on custom-built buses equipped with workstations and high-speed broadband connections. Women in remote areas don\u2019t have to make an arduous trip to a major city. Instead, the training comes to them. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tech by<\/em> Her: Helping women attain leadership roles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A second dimension of the problem concerns leadership. Women are under-represented at senior levels of the tech industry, accounting for about 30% of entry-level STEM workers, but just 12% of C-Suite positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Huawei, where I work, the culture recognizes the efforts and accomplishments of all employees, both male and female. Still, I know that it can be hard for women to view themselves as leaders if they don\u2019t see other women in leadership roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Role models give women confidence that their aspirations can someday become real. For example, as part of our annual ICT Competition<\/a>, a contest held by Huawei for university and college students around the world, Huawei gives out a Women in Tech award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years ago, I had the honor of giving out the awards to the winners, a team of young women<\/a> from Ghana who had designed an AI-powered water quality testing device. Such a device is an extremely useful technology in a country where one-fifth of the population lacks access to clean drinking water. After the ceremony, one of the winners told me to that before entering the competition, she could not have imagined being given this sort of opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the crux of the problem. Too often, bright young women cannot imagine getting the recognition \u2013 and the support \u2013 that would lead to receiving such an award, and to seeing themselves as innovators, and leaders, in ICT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huawei gives its female employees role models who can help them imagine that they themselves might assume leadership positions one day. One example is Dr. Zhu Peiying<\/a>, Huawei\u2019s Senior Vice President of Wireless Research and a Huawei Fellow, is currently leading 5G research and standardization at Huawei, with a focus on advanced radio access technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Zhu is also a Fellow at both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. Anyone with such impressive credentials provides a terrific role model for women at Huawei \u2013 or anywhere else, for that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To encourage women to pursue leadership roles, Huawei established the European Leadership Academy<\/a>. Each year, the Academy holds its <\/a>Summer School for Female Leadership in the Digital Age<\/a>, a program that empowers young women leaders to realize their leadership potential. Since launching in 2021, the program has trained more than 100 women, many of whom now hold prominent positions in technology, business, global politics, and academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long ago, I gave a speech at the Summer School to some students from rural Spain. Afterwards, some of them approached me and told me how much the program had meant to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also met Mary Coughlan<\/a>, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, a role model for leadership if ever there was one. Having access to such women provides powerful motivation for the participants in these summer programs, allowing them to interact with accomplished women leaders, and helping them to imagine themselves becoming one someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huawei speaks out on this issue frequently, lending its voice to the conversation about how to support women leaders. Last year, our thought leadership magazine, Transform<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> devoted an entire edition<\/a> to the topic, featuring such leaders as Irina Bokova<\/a>, the first female Director-General of UNESCO, and Ada Yonath<\/a>, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One leader from that edition of the magazine really made an impression on me: Judith Yah Sunday \u00e9pouse Achidi<\/a>, the General Manager of Cameroon Telecom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She struck me as having incredible confidence. \u201cI’m very bold,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cI don’t fear anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judith talked about how she was received when she first arrived at the company. \u201cI\u2019d be the only lady in a conference room, wearing a pink or purple dress\u2026Usually the director had a seat at the head of the table, but I decided not to sit there; I sat in the middle of the table instead. I always told them that it is not a seat that gives me the position. Wherever I sit, I am the director.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That level of confidence can help women attain leadership positions \u2013 not only in tech, but in other fields as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tech for<\/em> Her: Protecting women\u2019s health and well-being<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A third dimension of the problem is that digital technology is not being leveraged sufficiently to protect women\u2019s health. Huawei recognizes this and, with its partners, works actively to improve women\u2019s well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, China\u2019s largest third-party medical testing institution, KingMed, works with the Cloud Enterprise Intelligence vision team to develop an AI model that screens for cervical cancer. Using image recognition and other technologies, the model helps pathologists screen 80% to 90% of normal images, greatly reducing doctors\u2019 workload and resulting in more accurate screening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huawei\u2019s consumer products also help protect women\u2019s health. Through the AppGallery on our phones, we support people like Jacqueline Rogers, a single mother, entrepreneur, and software developer in South Africa who created an app <\/a>that helps women keep track of their pregnancies. Huawei’s AppGallery and its analytics features helped make sure Jacqueline\u2019s app, My Pregnancy Journey, is available to those who need it. The AppGallery’s Analytics Kit helps Jacqueline’s team customize their services to different user segments and expand use of the app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the GT4 smart watch<\/a>, helps women track their menstrual cycle<\/a> by monitoring their body temperature, respiration rate, and heart rate for more accurate predictions. Having a clearer understanding of their menstrual cycle can help women make better choices with respect to nutrition and exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019ve said many times, we need more women in tech. What\u2019s more, we need to do a better job using tech for the advancement and protection of women, whose increased participation in business and government will open up new advances in business and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Huawei, I am committed to helping talented women engage in tech, and providing more platforms that allow women to unleash their potential, leading society to a more prosperous and equitable future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Vicky Zhang, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Huawei Technologies People have been talking for decades about how to support women in tech. There has been progress, but sometimes the issue can seem intractable. I\u2019m proud to work for a company whose Women in Tech initiative has benefited thousands of women around the world. 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