Just 18% of all computer science graduates in the US are women, and we can count Erika Hairston among them. After disliking her first computer science class, she pressed on to become a double major graduate from Yale University, with African American studies, last spring. True to the mantra "you can't be what you can't see", Erika has set out to use her freshly honed talents to support other Black women who, like her, may not have initially considered a career in tech.
Helping two birds fly with one gust, Erika created Zimela, what is set to become an app where mentors can connect with mentees who aspire to studies or careers in tech. Although it will initially be available only for iPhones, Ms. Hairston hopes to expand this digital mentorship initiative to other platforms in the future.
Learn more about Erika here.
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As if learning to code by the age of 10 was not enough, Betelhem Dessie took things further by copyrighting four software programs that she developed herself. The investment the Ethiopian government made by bringing Betelhem and her family from Harar to Addis Ababa to continue her education also paid off handsomely: one of the apps she created crowdsources information from agricultural professionals to help the government map rivers and track irrigation systems. Is there anything she can't do?
No! She's even training other young women hoping to make their mark in tech with Girls Can Code. Currently, she is a project manager in Ethiopia's first artificial intelligence laboratory, iCog Labs.
Read more about Betelhem here.
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Talking about sexual health is --sadly-- a taboo subject for girls the world over. Often, inquiries a girl makes about her sexual health can invite rebuke or suspicions that she is having sex or otherwise "up to no good". Having a private, safe space to explore their curiosities could make a big difference for many girls, and so the Big Sis chatbot was born.
Designed to answer sexual health questions and to provide access to other (vetted) informative content related to sexual health, the Big Sis chatbot prototype has so far been successfully deployed on Facebook, with future rollouts on WhatsApp anticipated.
Learn more about the chatbot and its development here.
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Funding, Research, and Insights: Gender and Mobile in Action
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Are you working with women-led businesses in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, or Viet Nam and using fintech to improve access to finance and/or enhance operational efficiency? If so, then you could earn US $25,000 to US$ 50,000 co-funding for your project! Applications are due by 30 April 2019 at 23:59:59 EST.
Learn more here.
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As this newsletter demonstrates, progress is being made with closing the digital gender gap, but there remains a way to go still! The latest EQUALS report notes that as technologies become more complex and costly, these trends exacerbate the digital gender gap. Obviously, more needs to be done to realize a future where digital tools are not a luxury.
Download and read the report here.
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In evidence of its increasingly digital turn in efforts to help girls change their lives, Girl Effect launched a platform called Springster last year. Its aim is to "propel a new generation of connected girls," and in doing so it has learned some things along the way. Would you be surprised to know that content about menstrual cycles is the most popular on its platform?
Learn more about Springster and its content for girls here.
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