This is how girls can become the tech leaders of the future
Top IT experts have been giving young people an advice on how to break into the industry in Ukraine.
- Available in:
- Українська
- English
Every year on October 11, the world celebrates International Day of the Girl Child, first proclaimed by the United Nations in 2012, to draw attention to the problem of inequality faced by young women and girls around the world.
Ahead of the Girls’ Day in Ukraine, UNICEF Ukraine along with its partners STEM is FEM and UN Women in Ukraine organized a meeting of young people and IT experts in the innovation park UNIT.City to give young girls the chance to ask questions and propose ideas. Experts were on hand to guide them with career choices, explain how to overcome stereotypes, and help them to navigate the IT and technology industry.
Today, the share of women in the Ukrainian IT industry is just 24 per cent. However, this share steadily grows by 16 per cent year-on-year, and the future looks bright. Many young women who took part in the meeting are already successfully developing their own innovation and social projects in their communities, including those in the East of Ukraine.
"Gender equality is not just about women's rights. Equality gives every girl and boy, man and woman the opportunity to fulfill their potential. By reducing inequalities, we strengthen the economy and build a world where everyone wins, regardless of age or gender.”
A full recording of the meeting is available on UNICEF Ukraine Facebook page. Below are some of the highlights, including key ideas, advice and opinions.
Nina Levchuk, leader of startups and venture funds at Google Germany
- For seven years, more than 40 girls asked me how to grow and achieve their goals. And I noticed some common features. When they speak about their career growth or about their future, they only do it with their loved ones, but never at work. So, lesson number one: learn to talk about yourself. Before you jump into courses on tech development or investments, take a course on how to tell your story.
- Women really get lower salaries than men do. But women often fail to tell their management that their work costs more. Lesson number two: talk about what you want (higher salary, a vacation, a new position). People are not mind-readers!
- Lesson number three: You will be able to explain yourself and your aspirations well if you clearly understand what you want. Don’t be afraid of dreaming and saying that you are worth more. For example, write who you want to be in 10 years. And then ask yourself, “What do I need to achieve this?” And go ahead!
Serhii Tokarev, investor at RefaceAI and partner of Cyprus IT Forum
- It should not matter to the employer whom to hire: a man or a woman. What matters is the way of thinking, the work style and creativity. Be creative!
- In our company, about 30 per cent of employees are women. Our goal is to increase the share to 40 per cent.
- With a human resources company, we analyzed whether women are really paid less. And they are! But the problem is that girls often ask the employer for a low salary. Men, on the other hand, tend to overestimate themselves. It is not shameful to ask for more! Worst-case scenario, you will simply be denied.
Andrii Klen, cofounder and marketing director of Petcube
- There are three key principles for people doing something new:
- Do not be afraid and be ambitious. All obstacles are in our heads.
- Keep learning. There is a lot of information on the internet. And you need to identify what you really need and in what order.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don't be afraid to talk to other professionals. Whatever you want to do, it may have already been done a million times. So, you always have someone to ask.
- If you see that someone is treated in a sexist way, there is discrimination of their abilities or the person themselves, don’t be afraid to speak out and say this is not acceptable. If everyone does it, the system will work better over time.
- Employers value soft skills. This includes the ability to learn quickly. For example, it is valuable that if you find yourself in a situation where you do not know something, you can quickly understand it.
- 70 per cent of our users are women, and 60 per cent of the company's employees are men. We want to reduce the gap. I sincerely believe that diverse teams are more effective. Diverse teams with diverse competencies of their members which are balanced at the same time prove more effective and eventually make more money.
Dmytro Voloshyn, cofounder of the online educational platform Preply.com
- About 20 per cent of programmers did not study IT formally. Working abroad is the only situation where you may need an actual diploma, as opposed to knowledge alone. There, you do need to have a diploma to show.
- Each of us is the best at something. Somebody can code well, somebody can play the guitar. No matter what you do at work, you have what no one else has—your personality. You have to develop your personal brand. Make sure to communicate with your followers on social media and share your interests. At some point, if you encounter everyday sexism, you will have your own platform where you will be able to share this with people and feel support.
- In Japanese philosophy, there is the concept of ‘Ikigai’, which includes three things: what you want to do; what you can do; what you can be paid for. Your path is where they intersect.
- The English always say “please” at the end of the sentence. Learn to communicate with respect.
Where do you start if you want to make a career in IT?
The hardest part is taking the first step. This dialogue focused on the question "where to start?” Here are the main recommendations:
- Look up tests given by employers to prospective employees, take them and study what you don’t yet know.
- Look for an opportunity to participate in competitions, Olympiads, in particular in the prestigious annual student Olympiad ‘All-Ukrainian Student Internet Olympiad in Information Technologies’.
- If you want to participate in exchange programs, competitions or contests, it is important to find people who have already done so. They will tell you what you can do and how you can do it to succeed, and they will share life hacks.
- Monitor the state program Ukrainian Startup Fund, which provides funding to young entrepreneurs.
- Follow youth development programs of international organizations, including UNICEF. For instance, the program UPSHIFT Ukraine develops young people’s potential by selecting young people from across Ukraine. There is also USAID and STEM is FEM. Find programs and grants that work best for you.
- In Kyiv, you can join the Female Founders Club — young women who launched their own business. You can find them on social media and talk about where to start.
