Women and Girls in ICT

1. Women and Girls in ICT

2. Girls in ICT Day: Objective • “Girls in ICT Day” an initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is celebrated each year on the fourth Thursday of April • This event is organised in Mauritius by the National Computer Board (NCB) • The main objectives of this event are to: • Encourage and stimulate the interest of young people, particularly women, to engage in ICT-related studies and subsequent careers. • Ensuring women's empowerment and full participation in the information society and to use ICTs as a tool to mainstream a gender equality perspective

3. International Initiatives • The website – girlsinict.org – designed to inspire and help young women between the ages of 11 and 25 to prepare for and pursue careers in technology by providing them with useful resources such as links to scholarships, internships, ICT contests and awards, tech camps and online networks where they can interact with other women working in the industry • Celebration of the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day with the theme “Women and Girls in ICT” on the 17th May 2012. • On 28 April 2011, 300 girls (13-14 years of age) took part in the first ever celebration of International Girls in ICT Day in Serbia. • Workshops - How to encourage girls to ride the tech wave to a brighter future by UN • Conference – “Women Inspiring Excellence", by IBM

4. NICTSP 2007-2011 The ICT Sector in Mauritius: An Overview • ICT Sector a major pillar of the economy • In 2011 • Contribution of 6.7 % to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) • Value Added of Rs 19.2 billion to GDP • Growth rate of the sector was at 10.5 % • Employment in the sector was at 13,412 : Male 7240 and Female 6172 • Around 500 ICT-BPO companies

5. Scope of the ICT sector • The sector constitutes of the following activities: • Telecommunications • Manufacturing – Assembly of computer hardware and communication equipments • Wholesale and Retail trade (computer & communication equips.) • ICT-BPO activities – Call centres, Software development, Multimedia and Design, Website design and hosting, Cloud computing, Data centres, etc... • Leading global companies in Mauritius Accenture, Ceridian, Axa Assistance, Orange Business Services, DHL, Deutsche Bank, Huawei, Infosys, Hinduja, etc…

6. Challenges/Opportunities of the ICT sector • Challenges • Relatively small pool of ICT labour • Decreasing number of ICT graduates from tertiary institutions • Opportunities • Bilingual skills • Geographically well located (Regional hub) • State-of-art infrastructure – 2 undersea fibre optic cables, Cybercity, Business parks • Low cost of operations • High rate of employability

7. Fuelling the growth of the ICT sector • Increasing ICT Manpower • ICT Academy • Setting up of more local campuses • Setting up of more business parks • Increase use of cloud computing technologies • Inculcating an information security culture • Improving e-government applications • Empowering citizens with ICT skills (IC3, UIEP Phase II) • Attracting more foreign companies to invest in ICT-BPO • Boosting export of ICT services

8. The Gender Divide – A Global view on Internet Usage Percentage of women and men aged 15-74 using the Internet (2008/2009) Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

9. Percentage of persons using Computer by age group Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

10. Percentage of persons using Internet by age group Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

11. Percentage of persons using Internet by age group Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

12. Students examined in ICT at School Certificate level Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

13. Students examined in ICT at Higher School Certificate level Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

14. Percentage Pass rate SC level HSC level Source: Statistics Mauritius 2011

15. ICT at Tertiary Level: Enrolment & Output

16. ICT at Tertiary Level: The Gender divide Enrolment in an IT filed GAP

17. ICT at Tertiary Level: The Gender divide Supply of ICT Professionals GAP

18. Statistics based on ICT-BPO Sector Salary Survey of 2008

19. Basic Average Salaries based on a 2010 survey Salaries increase quite rapidly as experience is acquired. Most companies provide excellent benefits such as pension schemes, educational assistance and bonuses

20. Statistics based on ICT-BPO Sector Salary Survey of 2008

21. Statistics based on Tertiary Education Commission Tracer Study 2011 - Underemployment Abbreviation: SSDT - School of Sustainable Development and Tourism SBMF - School of Business Management and Finance SITE - School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering SS&Hum – Social Science and Humanity

22. Statistics based on TEC Tracer Study 2011 – Unemployed Graduates

23. Some occupations in the ICT sector • IT Director • Computer/IT consultant • Computer analyst/programmer • Multimedia/ Web/ Graphic Designer • System/Database administrator • Information systems manager • IT trainer/lecturer • IT Security Analyst/Consultant • Systems/business analyst • Technical support officer (IT) • IT sales professional • Multimedia specialist • Software engineer/ Developer / programmer • Electronics/telecommunications engineer • Network engineer

24. Nature of work in the ICT sector • It is also to be noted that due to new technologies, you may work • Full time • Part time - you may work on freelance for example as Graphic/designer for web or advertising. • Work from home – Examples: Astekand Arcnet

25. Courses being offered by University of Mauritius The department of Computer Science and Engineering delivers the following courses

26. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

27. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

28. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

29. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

30. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

31. Courses being offered by University of Technology (Mtius) • There is a department called the School of Innovative Technologies and Engineering (SITE), giving the following courses

32. Why should girl Opt for the ICT Sector • Open to creativity, innovation • Entirely new ways of working interacting and learning • Women are often more adept and patient at untangling complex problems, multitasking, seeing the possibilities in new solutions • Winning team support for collaborative action • As we move towards an ICT-based knowledge society, the rise of applications and the explosion in telemedicine, remote learning systems and research and development make the ICT industry the most exciting choice any young person can make • With the forecast of a shortage of skilled ICT professionals within the next ten years, it’s vital that we attract young women into technology if we are to sustain healthy growth rates for the industry overall. • With excellent employment opportunities and very good remuneration, a career in technology represents an excellent choice for girls.

33. Woman that are leading in the ICT Sector

34. Conclusion: The road to progress We live in age of innovation, communication and globalization. Creating IT without the input of women is akin to having “one hand tied behind our backs.” In an age such as ours, we cannot afford to be handicapped. It is our hope to encourage awareness of women’s participation in IT and in so doing, contributes to women’s increasing participation.

35. THANK YOU National Computer Board Email: contact@ncb.mu Website: www.ncb.mu