‘Women’s participation in ICT must be increased’

Only 25 per cent of girls take up information and technology as part of their formal education.

Speakers in a discussion meeting stated that only 25 per cent of girls take up information and technology as part of their formal education. And this comes down to only 12 or 13 per cent when it comes to their participation in this sector as a profession.
Girls must be encouraged at a school level to develop interest in technology in order to develop the country’s ICT sector as a whole. Gender discrimination must be decreased in this profession by training in entrepreneurship, incentives and other means, through government and private sector collaboration, they said.
These observations were made on Monday in a function held at Bangladesh Computer Council Auditorium in ICT tower of the city on the occasion ‘International Girls in ICT Day’.
Senior Secretary N M Zeaul Alam was present as chief guest in the function.
Bangladesh Computer Council Executive Director Abdul Mannan presided over the function.
Among others, Non-Governmental Organisational Affairs Bauru Director General K M Tarqul Islam, Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID) Executive Director Khandaker Zahurul Alam and Plan International Country Director Danis O Prayan also spoke.
The speakers said families and educational institutions must encourage girls to take up studies in technology, rather than saying that such subjects were “too difficult for girls.”
This day is observed internationally in order to increase girl’s participation in this rapidly growing sector and to encourage them to take ICT up as a profession.
The discussion was jointly organised by ICT Division and Bangladesh Computer Council with support from Plan International Bangladesh and CSID.
Speaking as chief guest at the discussion, Senior Secretary N M Zeaul Alam said, parents and teachers must play a vital role in encouraging girls to take up studies in ICT from the school level. With support from the UN, the ICT division has created 50,000 entrepreneurs under the Women ICT Frontier Initiative (WIFI). If private sector organisations were included in such initiatives, women could be taken ahead even further.
Country director of Plan International, Danis O Prayan, said there is still a high rate of dropouts among girls in this country. It must be ensured that each girl had the opportunity to go ahead with whatever potential she had within. An action plan was needed to eliminate gender disparity in the ICT sector by means of government and private sector partnership.