Women Tech it Up : Amplify our impact in community

Women Tech it Up is an alliance of women and organizations working with women/girls to empower them in tech. Women are still facing a significant gender gap in science and technology, and there are programs to help empower them by providing them with the necessary tools and resources to succeed in the field. By creating opportunities for networking, skill-building, and mentorship, these programs support women in tech and help bridge the gender gap. Initiatives like Women Tech it Up help to build a more equitable and diverse society by promoting women's leadership, influencing women-friendly policies and investment environments, and creating a safe and inclusive technological space for all. 

Hence, programs like Women Tech it Up are essential as they focus on addressing the under-representation of women and girls in STEM fields. Women Leaders in Technology (WLiT) brought together representatives from various women representing different organizations working on the grassroots level for gender equality in STEM for a 2-day facilitated summit (from September 10 to September 11)  to identify problems and challenges faced by girls and women in tech. In this summit, through critical thinking, and brainstorming, the group came up with a couple of solutions that could address the problem more effectively and help create a more significant impact. Over the next four months, each organization conducted individual projects aligned with the mission and vision established at the summit, which was funded and supported by WLiT. With this summit, we could fund 25 different communities (organizations, groups, and IT clubs all led by women) and reach 3000+ students.

Activities:

The Women Tech It Up program started with the Women Tech It Up Summit, a two-day event at the Academy of Arts and Culinary Hospitality Management, Lalitpur. The summit brought together representatives from 11 different organizations working on the theme of women and tech to discuss the challenges faced by women/girls in daily and professional life around tech and how as an organization, we can directly impact their lives and support them better. During the two-day event, attendees engaged in discussions and brainstormed solutions to address all the challenges faced by girls (women, students, girls, etc.) living in rural, semi-urban, and urban areas. The summit was facilitated by Mrs. Sumeera Shrestha, who ensured that the discussions were productive and meaningful, and by the end of the summit, we had our shared vision ”Create equitable, knowledge-based, and resilient society with fair STEAM opportunities for women in Nepal” as a stakeholder for five months. During these five months, all the attending organizations and the addition of some other clubs and communities conducted individual projects aligned with the mission and vision established at the summit.

The outcome of the summit:

Multiple organizations are working on the same theme (women and tech) in Nepal. We all are working for a society that promotes equal rights, inclusivity, and diversity by focusing on several key areas with the main goal of making technology accessible to all individuals, regardless of their background or location. To achieve this, we are taking several steps to increase the participation of women in technology, policy making, and economics, and with each other moving as an alliance we can multiply our efforts and achieve more than what we are achieving at the individual level. 

The main goal of Women Tech it Up was to promote the concept of "women for women," which encourages women to support and mentor each other in their careers. The facilitation form Mrs. Summera Shretha helped us make actionable points as follows: 

Vision: to create a fair, equitable, knowledge-based, and resilient society, ensure safe, inclusive, and accessible technological options for all, specifically for women and girls

Why: to strengthen women's leadership and collective agenda, to combat issues faced by women in technology, to influence women-friendly policy and investment environment

What: Promote gender-friendly digital entrepreneurship, policy research, and advocacy, Awareness raising, and capacity building including role models, Networking, and alliance building

We aim to change society's perception of women's leadership and competency by promoting role models and sharing success stories of women in technology. This will help to break down stereotypes and biases that may discourage women from pursuing careers in these fields.

Another way we are working to achieve this goal is by creating a workforce that is related to the industry. This involves working with industry leaders to develop and implement policies and programs that support diversity and inclusivity and partnering with academic institutions to provide training and resources to women and other underrepresented groups.

Finally, we are creating a digital space that is safe, inclusive, and accessible. This involves implementing policies and guidelines to ensure that technology is developed and used in a way that respects privacy and promotes equality.

Overall, our goal is to create a society that values and promotes equal rights, inclusivity, and diversity and to ensure that all individuals have equal access to the benefits and opportunities provided by technology.

Now we have opened the application when any small organizations, IT clubs, or informal group can apply for sub granting for project they want to do by feburary.