The second edition of the Women in Business leadership meeting organized by the Africa CEO Forum kicked off on Monday.
What is the role of women in new technologies?
For the next two days, nearly 250 participants from 31 countries will discuss innovation and the role of women in new technologies.
A highly dynamic sector with the development of artificial intelligence… which women must seize, explains Hajer Khader Bizri, deputy director of the Women in Business Initiative.
Women are under-represented in scientific fields and this poses a real problem because afterwards we have what is called a bias in innovation and we end up with biased innovations because they are tested and thought of only by men. So there is really this challenge of having more women who create algorithms, who are in the scientific fields so that the products and services that companies put on the market are adapted to the whole of humanity, said Hajer Khader Bizri, Deputy Director, Women in Business Initiative, Africa CEO Forum.
Science and techonolocy sector is seeking a more inclusive business world which the summit believes can be achieved through influential women networking.
“There’s actually a boy’s club where men will call other men and say please nominate me for this position, something I discovered recently. Whereas women will never call someone to nominate them, they want to be nominated on merit. And so having strong networks allows me to say’you know what this woman is really qualified, there’s this position, let me call her up and say: I want to nominate you for this’. So that’s the kind of networking and environment women don’t have,” said Nathalie Munyampenda
Executive Director, Next Einstein Forum.
Digital technology contributes more than 5% to the continent’s GDP, and this figure is expected to reach 8% in 2020. A technological revolution that brings new opportunities for African women, who today occupy only 11% of senior positions in new technologies.