In September our tech team refurbished donated laptops from Green Mountain Power to be sent to the CyberSafe Foundation’s CyberGirls fellowship program. The laptops have been shipped across the country and overseas to Nigeria, where they are helping young students continue their education and pursue careers in technology. As part of our support for the CyberSafe Foundation and our recent donation, we wanted to discuss the importance of cyber education for young women and how CyberSafe is pursuing this goal.
What is the Cybersafe Foundation
Founded in 2004, the CyberSafe Foundation has a goal of creating pockets of change to ensure that everyone in Africa can access digital services in a safe and inclusive manner. In these initiatives, CyberSafe aims to improve the uptake of digital technology in Africa, especially for the most vulnerable individuals. The Cybersafe Foundation currently has four main initiatives.
- NoGoFallMaga- A movement of young people fighting preventable digital fraud through consumer-centered awareness, education, and sensitization.
- Shine Your Eye- This is an initiative of the Cybersafe Foundation dedicated to raising awareness of cyber hygiene among senior citizens.
- CyberGirls- A 1-year fellowship program designed to equip girls aged 15-21 with highly sought-after cybersecurity skills and help them find employment.
- CyberSmartChild- Uses storytelling, games, songs, and peer learning to communicate cybersecurity messages to children in the most relatable, entertaining, and impactful way possible.
About the CyberGirls fellowship program
The CyberGirls program offers a 1-year fellowship program aimed at equipping girls aged 15-21 with cybersecurity skills and assisting them in finding work in Nigeria and abroad. By implementing this initiative, the fellowship program aims to combat poverty, cybercrime, shortages of cybersecurity skills, unemployment, and gender disparities in the tech sector (particularly cybersecurity).
Through the one-year fellowship, CyberGirls beneficiaries will learn computing and cybersecurity fundamentals, learn about cybersecurity career paths, and choose a career path of their choice. The students will follow an instructional path that will give them hands-on skills, mentorship, and certification preparation. The most important benefit is that they will be offered paid internships and job shadowing opportunities and, if they are of an age to qualify, will get assistance in getting a job placement upon graduation.
The support for this project comes from partnerships, financial and tech contributions from individuals and organizations.
“Investing in women is smart economics and investing in girls, catching them upstream is even smarter economics”
– Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
The Importance Of Supporting Women’s Education In STEM Fields
Often, women are overlooked for Stem positions. Diverse and inclusive workplace environments are essential in STEM across the board. To accomplish this, girls and women should be recruited, supported, and sustained in STEM careers.
According to a survey of women in science-related jobs, 91% said gender discrimination remains a career obstacle and 100% reported self-doubt and lack of confidence as an obstacle. These findings are not surprising as research also shows that women researchers typically earn less, receive less funding at the crucial start of their careers, and are cited less often than their male counterparts.
These studies are why both Techdren and CyberSafe strive to empower women to move forward in IT careers.
Where our missions align
As part of Techdren’s mission, we are committed to empowering women and advancing education through technology. Women of all ages and locations should be able to learn with technology and advance their careers in the field. We aim to support young women through technology, just as CyberSafe’s fellowship program does. As a result, we were delighted to support a program that align with our own.
How You Can Help The CyberGirls Fellowship
You can support the CyberGirls Fellowship by donating directly through the CyberSafe website.
If you know of a company that is looking to donate their obsolete technology in an eco-friendly way, that makes a positive impact in young people’s lives email us at tech@techdren.
