Vodacom SA continues to shape young girl’s lives with its #CodeLikeAGirl programme
Vodacom's investment in digital skills training programmes for young girls will help narrow the digital gender gap.
The study field of computer science has increasingly developed a gender gap, making it a more male-dominated industry.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, only 35% of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem) students in higher education globally are women and only 3% of female students in higher education choose Information and Communication Technologies studies.
As part of its commitment to empowering more girls in coding and driving diversity in Stem studies, Vodacom SA continues to shape young girls’ lives with its #CodeLikeAGirl programme.
On June 27, Vodacom hosted a media roundtable at Vodaworld in Midrand with previous #CodeLikeAGirl participants as they showcased the impact of the programme and how it had changed their lives.
Vodacom launched the programme in 2017 in which girls aged between 14 and 18 years, still in high school, and from any province in South Africa including countries such as Lesotho and Tanzania among others, can receive training in coding.
In her remarks, Vodacom SA human resources director Njabulo Mashigo said the programme had trained thousands of young girls in coding in South Africa, both from private and public schools.
This investment by Vodacom in digital skills training programmes for young girls will help to narrow the digital gender divide by inspiring more girls to explore careers that require digital skills and nurturing their confidence in Stem.
“Having joined Vodacom recently, it’s been amazing just to see and understand the evolution of the programme that started with just only 20 girls, starting from Tembisa schools in 2017,” said Mashigo.
“In the last five years as we evolved as Vodacom, the programme also evolved as we went from just providing basic skills and introduction into the space to becoming about a journey as well.”
Chimwemwe Muansa, Zainaaz Hansa, Saabierah Salie, and Shreya Rupan were some of the previous participants who shared their experiences, opinions, and insights from the programme.
Vodacom does not only equip these young girls with digital skills, they also fund them through university.
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