This Thursday, the GSMA Connected Women team will host an interactive app building workshop to celebrate Girls in ICT Day, the ITU’s annual initiative and global effort to raise awareness on empowering and encouraging girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICT.
A class of 13-year-old schoolgirls from East London school Bethnal Green Academy will head down to creative hub BL-NK near the Silicon Roundabout to hear inspiring words from four successful women in technology before learning to build their very own apps. Members of the GSMA will work with groups of students to mentor them for the day and also share their own personal insights and experiences of working in the mobile industry.
The local students invited have yet to decide on their GCSE subjects so this is a great opportunity to inspire and encourage them to think about taking STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and to explore the exciting and varied career opportunities in technology. According to new figures published by the Higher Education Funding Council (Hefce), more students than ever were accepted onto STEM courses in 2013-14. However, there is still a lot more to be done to encourage even more girls to pursue learning in subjects such as engineering and computer science.
Guest speakers at the event represent women who are well established in their careers as well as those who are just starting out. They include the GSMA’s Director General Anne Bouverot; Ranwa Sarkis, Head of Operations, Global Sales Functions at Facebook; Maria Molina, Principal, Communications, Media & Technology, AT Kearney; and Lucy Paine, a very inspirational 20-year-old Junior Project Manager at Telefónica. Each will share their stories and words of advice to inspire the young students in attendance..
The ICT sector has been identified as an engine of growth for Europe, creating 120,000 jobs per year. The European Commission calculates that there will actually be a shortfall of up to 700,000 skilled ICT workers by 2015; however, women currently only constitute only 30 per cent of the ICT workforce in Europe, and also often leave the industry early, missing out on the chance to get to the top.
In the mobile industry, for example, there are enormous opportunities for people with deep technological skills but also for those who want to support the full potential of mobile, whether it’s creating connected cars, advancing mobile commerce or even designing the master plan for a smart city.
The GSMA Connected Women initiative is focused on ensuring that the mobile industry leads the movement to accelerate the rise of the female economy. This includes working together to close the ICT skills gender gap, to attract and retain female talent, to encourage female leadership in industry whilst addressing the gaps in female participation and the skills that have the potential to hold back productivity and commercial success.
Following successful events in London, Shanghai, New York and Barcelona, the Connected Women initiative will continue to create global awareness of the business case for greater involvement of women in the mobile industry and motivate the sector to take positive action.