It takes
a lot of courage to work in a male-dominated tech sector but women are here to
make their mark. Aqsa Kausar is one of the four women, selected as Google Developer
Expert from Pakistan, recalling the difficulty she faced when she started out
in the field.
“I developed [an] interest
in Machine Learning but since there were not a lot of resources available, I
had to do a lot of online learning. Learning majorly on my own was, of course,
a challenge because there weren’t many people I could go to in case I was stuck
on a concept”.
“When I applied for the
programme, there was no female GDE in Pakistan and there was no GDE in Machine
Learning at all.”
First
encounters with technology can also help young girls build their digital
literacy over time. Digital literacy is the ability to use information and
communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate
information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.
Sakina
Abbas whose expertise is Flutter, meanwhile, remained upbeat while talking
about her journey saying “nothing seems
like a challenge if you pursue it with passion.”
“It was indeed tiring and difficult to keep
up, but at the end of the day, challenges strengthen you and help you become a
better version of yourself.”
“They (government) need to
create more opportunities for women. They should take measures to create ease
for women such as making housing available for single women to come work in
hubs such as major cities.“
“The government should also promote STEM
entrepreneurship among university students, establish partnerships with private
organizations working on STEM entrepreneurship, and improve the capacity of
NICs (National Incubation Centres) to incubate IT ventures,” said in Dawn
news.
Sakina
Abbas emphasized the need for the government to encourage women to come forward
for participation in the IT sector.
For
her future goals, Sakina said: “There’s a
huge gap between academic life and the tech industry that I want to bridge with
the help of my fellow community builders by organizing technical workshops and
events specifically tailored for university students who have little or no idea
which domain to pursue post-graduation.”
She
also said that “I hope to motivate them
to pursue technology without paying much heed to ‘Ye field tou sirf larkon
keliye hai, larkiyan nai kar patien’ (this field is only reserved for boys,
girls can’t pursue it) by the naysayers. Being GDEs from their own country,
from their own gender group, I’m hopeful that women will feel comfortable
enough around us to openly share their concerns with us, so that we can guide
them and even mentor them,” said in technologytimes.pk
WomenInTech
warmly welcomes Pakistani women in technology sectors. For the past five years,
they have been working tirelessly to create a meaningful impact. They are:
Enabling
the vision for a better and more inclusive future of the tech industry by
helping women skill up and find opportunities by executing programs like
CodeGirl and CryptoChicks in Pakistan. Helping women find mentors for their careers
and facilitating them in connecting with the right networks. Providing women
access to home-based and onsite work opportunities and assisting them in
navigating the professional world by giving them an open and safe discussion
forum.
