Women remain underrepresented in STEM, yet their contributions are vital to shaping the future of technology. Through our recent article series ”Celebrating Women in Tech”, we’ve highlighted the inspiring journeys of women working across the openIMIS initiative – sharing their career paths, motivations, and perspectives on both opportunities and challenges in the sector.

Now, we invite you to join our Bhela call – a space to connect, brainstorm, and inspire one another. Together, we’ll celebrate women in tech and explore how our community can create more inclusive pathways for community members today and for the next generation.

What to expect? – We will:

• Share background insights on this important topic

• Explore regional perspectives from several countries

• Collaborate to spark fresh ideas and action

This will be a chance to continue the conversation beyond the articles, exchange experiences, and discuss opportunities and enablers for women to enter, thrive in, and shape tech networks and the wider sector.

We look forward to your participation and voices in this important dialogue!

Co-ordinates

Date: 24 September 2025

Time: 10.00 AM (UTC +1)

Room: Jitsi Meet (https://meet.jit.si/openIMISImplementers)

Participants: (kindly only add yourself, not others):

•  

•  

• …

Schedule

Interesting Reads:

Links to openIMIS article series:

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Yolande Margaret Goswell | openIMIS (June 2024)

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Sylvia Mwelu | openIMIS (February 2025)

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Karolliny Nayra dos Santos Lima | openIMIS (April 2025)

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Kristin Chloe Pascual | openIMIS (May 2025)

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Simona Dobre | openIMIS (July 2025)

• Celebrating Women in Tech: Suravi Bhandary | openIMIS (August 2025)

Discussion(s):

• Diversifying Software Development Teams | openIMIS (May 2024)

Summary

The openIMIS Initiative dedicated its September Bhela to Celebrating Women in Tech, bringing together community members to reflect on women’s contributions, the challenges they face, and practical ways to strengthen support for women working in the tech space.

Discussions highlighted the stark gender gap in digital access: 885 million women in low- and middle-income countries do not use mobile internet, limiting their ability to learn, train, and participate in the digital economy. Even where women pursue STEM education, the numbers fall sharply when moving into the workforce - in sub-Saharan Africa, 47% of STEM graduates are women, but only 30% of tech jobs are held by women. Women are particularly underrepresented in the areas of coding, cloud computing and AI, as well as in leadership.

Participants stressed the qualities women bring to the sector -resilience, empathy, technical excellence, inclusiveness, and attention to detail -but also the barriers that too often hold them back, from gender stereotypes and lack of representation to financing constraints and limited opportunities.

Partners AeHIN and KeHIA shared examples of initiatives opening doors for women, including mentorship schemes, buddy systems, and grassroots programmes inspiring girls and young women to consider careers in tech. The brainstorming session added further ideas, from giving visibility to local initiatives to showcasing women’s contributions in digital health and creating forums for cross-country peer support.

The meeting underscored the strong momentum within the openIMIS community to build a more inclusive and resilient tech sector. openIMIS will continue working with partners to amplify women’s voices and contributions in digital health and social protection.