A good specialist is one who does their best and grows in the area they work in. If a well-qualified employee brings positive outcomes to the company and keeps moving ahead by upgrading their skills, they become a precious stone in a company’s team and a brilliant future for the country. And it doesn’t matter whether this employee is male or female. Both have the right to grow in the area they are interested in. Founding Partner Roosh and investor in Reface, Sergey Tokarev, reveals the current issues linked to the presence of female specialists in Ukrainian IT and provides insightful solutions in his column on UP.Zhyttia.
The modern world has been ruining many stereotypes, including the stereotype that IT is only a “male” industry. Sergey Tokarev points out that today there is a significant demand for IT among girls. They are getting more interested in IT and are willing to build their career within it. But the issues related to gender stereotypes often make them quit and change their life directions. Unfortunately, it happens quite often and results in breaking promising opportunities for the country. Many people think women go to IT to look for a life partner and that they are able to take only the HR or QA tester positions. But these statements are so deeply wrong. The world is losing perspectives by restraining women from growing in high-tech areas.
Currently, women make up about 25% of all Ukrainian IT specialists, which is not enough. The IT entrepreneur shares great solutions to inspire girls in their eagerness to work in IT and provide educational opportunities to pursue their careers. Sergey Tokarev singles out three options to increase the number of women in Ukrainian IT.
Thematic clubs
The first step is to give girls an opportunity to learn more about women in IT and what professions they can qualify for through thematic clubs and communities. A good example of such a community is SHE is SCIENCE, an initiative that unites interested girls and uncovers the contribution of 12 Ukrainian female scientists. In this project, participants can get acquainted with the career path of each female scientist. Among them are Kateryna Yushchenko, a programmer who created a formal language for addressable programming, and Olga Perevozchikova, a scientist who participated in creating state programming standards in Ukraine. The project was created by NGO STEM is FEM with a focus on motivating girls to build a career in STEM.
IT Education
Once girls choose an IT area they want to follow, Sergey Tokarev notes the importance of gaining a higher education. SET University is a great option to account for. The university is mainly focused on technology and provides different courses for teenagers, both girls and boys. But considering the IT industry wants to encourage girls to choose tech specialties more, the entity plans to create scholarship programs for them.
Professional communities
To help women after gaining IT education, it is essential to offer them further support and get them involved in professional communities. Sergey Tokarev believes such communities can encourage women’s professional growth by providing skillful training courses. Typically, such communities incorporate Ukrainian as well as foreign specialists in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.