Gender Diversity in African Tech: Women Breaking Barriers

In recent years, Africa has witnessed a significant shift in the tech industry, as women have increasingly taken up the challenge of narrowing the gender gap. Against the initial notion where the tech space in Africa has been mainly dominated by men, many women leaders, as well as several gender diversity initiatives, are helping to open up the tech space more and more.

Women in Tech That Inspire and Lead.

There are women who have carved a niche in the African technology space. This includes Rebecca Enonchong, the founder of AppsTech who has become well known not only in technology but in championing women in the tech industry as well.

Enonchong hails from Cameroon but has been proactive in mentoring girls in Africa tech and pushing for women advancement in tech.

Another powerful woman in telecommunications in Nigeria is Funke Opeke who is the CEO of MainOne. Main One, Opeke’s company, deals with broadband communication as one of its chief online services, and this has greatly improved the internet penetration in Nigeria and the western part of Africa. Hers is a success business requiring resilience as it explains how a woman can make it to the top in technology which is profusely dominated by men.

These women and many other upcoming female professionals are changing the story and raising the bar for ladies in the tech industry on the continent. They are examples of people who have persevered and made it clear that one does not have to be hindered by their gender in their career especially in the area of technology.

Promotion of Inclusion in Society

There are many players who work to ensure equity in terms of gender within the tech ecosystem in most of the African countries.  For instance, Women in Tech Africa is the biggest women in tech support community on the continent offering networking, training, and mentorship for women seeking to join or grow in the tech field.

In the same way, She Leads Africa, Tech Women Africa initiatives are also enabling women to learn systems such as coding, software engineering, and artificial intelligence among other technologies. Besides, these initiatives aim at upskilling the women, they also seek to create an environment within which the women have support in overcoming challenges in a space where the men have traditionally occupied.

Bridging the Gender Imbalance

Even with these initiatives, the issue of the gender imbalance in tech in African nations remains a big problem. Most of these countries disadvantages women in amongst other spheres of life the tech world due to cultural and educational constraints and the attitudes of employers. Nonetheless, there are efforts in Africa to eradicate this concern.

Countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya are formulating and implementing national strategies for the enhancement of gender parity in education and employment in STEM fields. Additional inclusivity in hiring policies and guaranteed equality is being adopted by more technology new businesses, and the education system is now focused on winning young girls over to technology at early ages.

Similar impact is making the availability of technological hubs around the continent. This  offer an enabling and non-gender biased atmosphere for women intent on learning and innovating.

As more gains in the sector, particularly in the technological advancement embraced in Africa, it is evident that gender equity is almost being realized in the specific sector of technology.

The tech expertise gap between African men and women is slowly getting filled since more African women are breaking the limits and venturing into the tech field. With more of such initiatives and policies in place, the gender imbalance in the African tech space will continue to reduce as more women will be able in leadership, innovation and managing technology development all over the continent.