500 Women in Technology - UN Women initiative supporting girls in ICT
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One of the most effective ways to break gender stereotypes and empower women is to support women and girls in technology. With support from the Government of Norway, UN Women has long-standing experience working in this area. It is this very experience that laid the foundations for the large-scale “500 Women in Technology” project.
500 Women in Technology will be implemented by UN Women, with the involvement of the Business and Technology University, TBC Bank, signatory companies of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), and various ICT representatives. Five hundred women across Georgia will be selected and then trained in information and communications technology (ICT). This six-month programme is equally suited to both beginners and experienced candidates.
One of the supporters of the initiative is TBC Bank, a WEPs signatory, whose IT Academy will train at least 100 participants on nine different topics. It is noteworthy that successful graduates will also benefit from the opportunity of employment at TBC and its subsidiary companies.
“We, as a technology company, have been actively promoting the technological education of young people and the development of technological professions for several years,” said Maka Bochorishvili, TBC’s Environmental, Social and Governance Coordinator. “For this purpose, we established the IT Academy in 2019, where up to 600 participants have passed various courses, and up to 200 have been employed by TBC. At the same time, TBC has always supported the empowerment of women, both by creating various development opportunities for employees and by offering financial and educational services. For example, 37 per cent of ICT employees at TBC are women.”
The programme integrates important modules such as Front-End Development, Back-End Development, UI/UX Design, Graphic Design, Digital Marketing, Digital Product Testing and others besides. In addition to these components, there will be intensive English language courses and a career bootcamp, which will give candidates the skills needed to find a job in technology. As part of this, the participants will receive training in leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, business communication and career planning. Individual mentors will work intensively with the participants to help them develop their careers and find relevant jobs.
The initiative is part of the Women in Economic Empowerment component of the “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” project, which is supported by the Government of Norway.