This Tuesday, South Africans Mampsane Dolly Phalane, Nozibusiso Gumede, Patience Mthunzi, Rejoyce Gavhi and Zoë Lincoln – along with 73 other women from the Middle East and Africa – flew to the US to take part in the US Department of State’s TechWomen exchange programme where they will be exposed to and gain knowledge from some of the world’s biggest tech companies.
Currently in its third year running, TechWomen aims to provide women the access and opportunities needed to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and build a network of mentors in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM).
The participants from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe will work with 40 tech companies such as Twitter, ThoughtWorks and Ericsson in the San Francisco Bay area and Silicon Valley where they will also attend networking events and workshops in hardware, Internet, science, software, telecommunications and green technology.
“It is a great platform for me as a woman who is passionate about leadership and mentoring to learn more on how I can improve these skills and effectively contribute and make an impact to the community,” Mampsane Dolly Phalane told TechWomen.
The TechWomen exchange programme ends on 5th November and each of the women will thereafter join other TechWomen alumnae and a number of visiting U.S. mentors in their respective countries to conduct workshops for women and girls interested in tech in their home countries.
[Source – US Department of State, Image – TechWomen Twitter]
