Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies South Africa, Pinky Kekana delivered her keynote speech at the launching of “Lift As We Rise” that took place at the University of Pretoria’s Africa Campus a few days ago. Lift As We Rise is a series supported by the South African Women in ICT Forum.
On her keynote, the Deputy Minister said that women should take up the wholesale open-access network (WOAN). WOAN is seen as a viable option for creating new business opportunities for ICT SMMES as well as the tools to benefit and empower women.
She said: “Women of South Africa, there are opportunities in tech if we choose to see it like that. There are currently talks about the WOAN…I’m not sure where women in the ICT space are in those conversations.”
Kekana added, “As women, we need to be thoughtful and measured in our view of ICT. We need to view ICT as tools through which gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls can be advanced, allowing us all to participate in the technology economy together.”
The Deputy Minister said that the South African government is very vocal about women in leadership in the ICT sector which mainly is dominated by male. This is part of the government efforts to keep up with the United Nations’ sustainable development goal on gender equality.
Speaking of Lift As We Rise series powered by the Women in ICT Forum, it is a phrase to describe that women should uplifting each other. The series was launched in conjunction with the training of 60 grade five girls from Pretoria on coding skills via the DigiGirlz coding workshop initiated by Microsoft South Africa.
According to the Chairperson of the Women in ICT Forum, Mameetse Masemola, they plan to focus more on the four Ts—Training, Talent, Trade, and Traction—for the next four years.
Speaking on Lift As We Rise, the Deputy Minister who happens to be a patron of the Women in ICT Forum, said: “If we take the phrase Lift As We Rise seriously…we can double the figures of women representation in the ICT sector and build from there.”
“We can no longer be observers and merely talk about emancipation of women and we can no longer talk about gender parity but not activate it to women empowerment,” the Deputy Minister concluded
Source: itnewsafrica.com
