The Frontlines of my Life

Studying and working in a male dominant field for 17 years has been very challenging and even more frustrating to have been teaching for 12 years in a Technical college never having a class of more than 4 girls in 45 students. My close observation shows that 90% of girls and women consider STEM as a profession meant for men and less than 30% of girls in secondary schools are doing STEM education.

I strive thatgirls and boys should feel an equal sense of belonging in their learning environments and in the STEM fields specifically through the promotion oftechnical educationfor girlsto improve gender equality, giving women and girls equal access to opportunities. I believe, it is important to provide early experience and exposure for girls, in order to boost them up to build self-confidenceand self-esteem byempowering them withtechnologyskillsto help close thegender tech divide. From my personalexperience,I understand how difficult it is for girls to emerge and succeed in STEM careers without support from mentors and role models.

Given that women are the most influential agents of change in my community, I have a visionto to close the gender tech gap in Cameroonby creatingfemale STEM clubs in schools that will motivate them to attend STEM programs as well asdeveloping a mentorship platform for school girls and professional and later on createa Technology Innovation Hubwhere female university graduates can come together, share ideas andbuild projects.

For 2 years, I have been running aprogram for girls calledThe Technovation Challenge.This program is a 12 week online curriculum for girlsaged 10 to 18 that teaches them how to build mobile applications foran android phone to address an issue which they face in their different communities, such as an app for a parent who is looking for a lost child in the community. It aims to help children to find their parents and parents to find their kids.

I beganbyrecruiting girls, coaches and mentors for on line registration and now I have 30 girls per program and a team of 15 coaches and mentors who serve as volunteers.

In Cameroon,gender disparities are greatest in STEM fields. There are two prominent reasons for this: the first is a perceived masculine culture and the second is a lack of related course experience before college.

I faced the challenge of lowconfidence level and motivation forgirls to enroll and lack of access to good equipment.

I was one example: before the programI had no priorcoding experience and Iaskedmyself,“How can I train and mentor girls when I am not a software developer?”I had a lot of fear of failure on my mind andfacedwith the problem of poor internet connection. Like me, at first the girls are shy and they do not believe in themselves. They have the capacity and zealto imagine and create but they are not informed about the latest technology innovations because they lack exposure to training equipment and as a result they do not opt for STEM programs.

We are now in the 3rd cycle of the program and we have made great success. Thiswork has enabled me to discover a lot of gaps, which I intend to fill.

Overcoming this struggle permitted me tobetter understandwhythetech gender gap exists and Ilearned to code myself. I am nowmore inspired and motivated to move on and train as many girls as possible in well-equipped computer lab.

How to Get Involved

You can support my work at CYEED by donating laptops. Computers, tablets, office equipment, projector and screen.

Your generous donations will go a long way to bring digital skills to women across Cameroon.