TRENDING
Thenji Sithole , Chief Information Officer , Product Solutions
Cluster , Absa is possible . A good place to start would be to make technology careers more attractive , especially at a young age . We also need to create more opportunities and provide support to women to allow them to climb the corporate ladder and participate in crucial conversations .
The good news is that more companies are putting initiatives in place to build a pipeline of talent and support women in the technology sector . WeThinkCode , for instance , offers a two-year , tuition free , NQF level 5 qualification in systems development , with a 98 % employment rate among graduates .
There is a clear call to action to close the gender gap and help more girls and women not only get a foot in the door but a seat and a voice at the boardroom table .
Absa is committed to increasing female representation in the business and providing opportunities to advance female representation , which is currently 35.6 %, notably higher than the industry standard .
Late last year , we were named one of the World ’ s Top Female-Friendly Companies for 2022 by Forbes . We were ranked 36th among 400 global companies excelling in championing women at work , landing us a top-40 spot on the list worldwide and
According to Women in Tech , of the 236,000 ICT roles in South
Africa , only 56,000 roles are held by women . making us the top South African company assessed in the survey .
In addition , Absa partnered with the local training NGO to transform South Africa ’ s digital skills landscape by focusing on practical ways to reform youth employability . The partners look at identifying whether candidates show other aptitudes for coding and programme design , and young females form a large part of the initiative .
Absa has various initiatives , one of these being our partnership with Harambee to improve the lives of South African youth through work experience in technology with a focus on scarce skills such as software development and data analytics . Nurturing the skills of the future with the workforce of the future is critical to driving job creation and economic growth , and women need to be supported to play a more equal role .
Other initiatives include personalised support through mentorship , coaching , and regular check-ins for women on the succession programme . The introduction of stay interviews with senior females to proactively drive the retention of top talent and achieve 95 % of the succession plan , as well as courting top talent via coffee sessions , even when there are no vacancies .
There is also a focus on diversity and inclusion , and this has resulted in a number of women being appointed to senior positions .
As more organisations commit to and act on providing the practical support needed to help women in technology , we will begin to truly see the value they bring to the table . This will create a wave of positive change that drives South Africa ’ s technology sector forward . p
20 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com