Kathy Gibson reports – Huawei has launched its Women in Tech Digital Skills Training program for 2024, which aims to empower women entrepreneurs or those working in various vertical markets to effectively leverage technologies like 5G and AI.
“Our vision is to have a fully connected digital world,” says Vanashree Govender, Huawei South Africa’s senior media and communications manager. “And this means we have to bring everyone on board – otherwise it won’t be sustainable or contribute to social and economic growth.”
Women in tech “will not only bridge the gap in the digital landscape but promote gender equity and give women a competitive edge in their industries and the broader job market,” she adds.
“Huawei is excited to celebrate Women’s Month by offering this rewarding opportunity for women to use newly gained tech skills as a springboard for their participation in the digital economy.”
The two-day training promises to help women take their careers to new heights as Henley Business School Africa joins as a new partner who will deliver fresh lessons in leadership development.
Jon Foster-Pedley, dean of Henley Business School, believes there is huge potential for digital technologies to assist small businesses in their everyday operations.
“We are already looking at a very different world,” he says. “It is a very interesting time for technology.”
But the big issue, he says, is that people are not connected with one another. “Technology allows us to e cbonnected, and communities can talk to each other and help each other out.”
The future will be totally different, with youngsters today growing up as digital natives.
‘So we have to move on, get involved, download artificial intelligence (AI) on to your phone and start learning.”
Society needs to work towards inclusivity, Foster-Pedley adds. In the tech industry the lack of women is pronounced, with little opportunity for advancement. “We need to change this.”
However, technology can be a great leveller, helping women to break out of predefined or expected roles.
“Listen to the voice that says ‘you can’, because we have no future without women in tech.”
Research shows that when women entrepreneurs are trained in cloud computing for example, they can better analyse data as well as market trends and draw data-led insights to better serve their customers. It is also argued that tech skills training makes women more open to embracing innovation in their business, giving them a competitive advantage in their industries.
The contribution to women empowerment and capacity building is vital, says Elizabeth Marabwa, chief director: programmes and projects at the Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources.
Data shows the women participation in the energy sector is very low, so it’s important to capacitate more women to move up the ladder, she says.
“Decision-making processes that ignore the needs and contribution of women affect the success of any company. So if we don’t capacitate women we affect he bottom line, and are losing out.”
Studies bear this out: companies with more women in senior positions perform better than those with less female representation, Marabwa adds.
“Our department has taken decisive steps to ensure that we have strategies in place to guide the empowerment of women in both the mining and energy sectors.”
This year, the annual programme offers a cohort of 30 women entrepreneurs and government leaders an exclusive training experience in the rapidly developing fields of cloud computing, 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).