Following the announcement of the launch of WITNET – the ITU Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers – at the GSMA mWomen Seminar last year, the ITU has launched a new web portal focused on helping girls and women access training, job opportunities and career information in the fast-growing information and communication (ICT) sector.

The portal is designed to help girls and young women aged 11-25 prepare for and pursue a technology career, providing links to scholarships, training and internships, ICT contests and awards, tech camps, online girls’ networks and other programmes that will give them a boost in entering what has become a largely male-dominated sector.

“Research consistently shows that girls tend to choose careers where they feel they can ‘make a difference’ – healthcare, education, medicine. With this new portal, we’re trying to show them that there’s much more to ICTs than writing computer code,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General. “As we move towards an ICT-based Knowledge Society, the rise of apps and the explosion in telemedicine, remote learning systems and research and development make the ICT industry the most exciting choice any young person can make. We are entering unchartered waters of creativity, innovation and entirely new ways of working, interacting and learning. I hope our new portal will serve as a showcase to attract the many talented girls and young women in countries worldwide to this booming sector.”

What does the portal contain?

The Girls in ICT Portal houses some 400 programmes, including over 100 scholarship programmes and an equal number of contests and awards, some 60 training and internship opportunities, over 100 online networks offering career support and mentoring, as well as tech camps and Girls in ICT Day activities.

It also includes a link to a Girls in ICT Toolkit, developed by ITU partner WITNET (the Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers). Organizations wishing to add a programme to the Girls in ICT Portal simply need to log on and register.

ITU members recently voted to make ‘Women and Girls in ICT’ the theme of ITU’s upcoming World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, which will be celebrated on 16 May 2012.