BitDepth 786 - June 14
13/06/11 22:03 Filed in: BitDepth - June 2011
Microsoft brings its DigiGirlz inspiration camp to the Caribbean and kicks it off in Trinidad and Tobago.
Let’s hear it for the girls
Panellists at Microsoft’s DigiGirlz day. From left, Rhea Yaw Ching, Frances Correia, Jacqueline François, Margaret Bernard and Ramona Ramdial. Photography by Mark Lyndersay.
Last Tuesday, an impressive gathering of schoolgirls showed up for the first Caribbean edition of Microsoft’s DigiGirlz series of youth focused seminars.
According to Pradeep Raman, General Manager, Microsoft Trinidad and Tobago, the company began the DigiGirlz project as part of its diversity programme and has specifically emphasised it in the Caribbean and Latin America to, in Raman’s words, “reach out to young women at the inflection point in their lives when they are making decisions about their future.”
The young women were in for a mixed bag of sometimes opinionated advice, Microsoft soft-sell and at least one hour’s worth of riveting life stories from female professionals delivered at firehose pressure.
The DigiGirlz experience is different depending on where it’s hosted and what kind of resources are available. There’s an online component with curriculum material here.
Out of the half-day of the event that I witnessed, it’s fair to say that the young ladies got their day’s worth out of just the panel discussion, which brought a rich resource of female professionals to bear on the mission encouraging young women to set the bar high for their ambition.
Senator Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam, Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration, sitting in for an unavoidably absent but apparently keenly interested Prime Minister for the feature remarks, gave a talk that seemed to be as much about cautioning the young attendees about the dangers of technology as it was about flogging the Ministry's ICT initiatives. It was hard to tease from the former teacher's speech a clear and unequivocal call to engagement in hardcore ICT.
That wasn’t the case with the panellists who were often borderline militant in their call to arms for the cause of young women in the digital workplace.
“I’m going to put in a plug here for mathematics,” said UWI Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, Margaret Bernard.
“It’s a base that will take you anywhere and if you have a feel for it, pursue it. I’d like to differ a bit on the kind of statistics I'm hearing about girls. In our bachelor’s classes, half of them are young women. There are also many females pursuing other studies. There is no glass ceiling in careers. Everything is open to you.”
Frances Correia, executive vice-president for Government business, Fujitsu Caribbean, proved to be a particularly engaging and straightforward speaker with a gritty Trini flavoured speaking voice.
“I have a big title, but basically, I'm in sales for an IT company,” she began, encouraging a titter from her audience.
“I don't have a passion for IT for itself, I like what it can do, how it can enable solutions and deliver a better quality of life.”
“The big gap between where you are today as a student and where you will end up is in developing creative thinking, preparing yourself for the problem solving issues of work life. The bundle of experiences you have become a resource that you carry with you for the rest of your life.”
“I came from a challenging background,” local animation champion Camille Selvon-Abrahams said, “but I never used that as an excuse not to succeed or to limit me in any way.”
It would fall to Jacqueline François, COO of Oscar François Limited, who set aside a potential career in IT to return to her family’s business to wave a flag for programming.
“Despite the concerns of other presenters,” François said, “this world needs people who can sit by themselves and work out problems that need to be dealt with.”
Thematically, it seemed that nobody at the DigitGirlz panel set out to do what they are doing now. Here are some more complete notes from their talks with the girls.
Margaret Bernard
I'm going to put in a plug here for mathematics. It's a base that will take you anywhere and if you have a feel for it, pursue it. I'd like to differ a bit on the kind of statistics I'm hearing about girls. In our bachelors classes, half of them are young women. There are also a large number of females pursuing other studies. There is no glass ceiling in careers. Everything is open to you.
Offered warning that the ICT work isn't solitary, you don't necessarily sit by yourself coding.
ICT is an opportunity to build your own business or to create an opportunity for yourself.
It's possible to find a balance, to have a career and to put your family first.
Life meanders, even if you make the wrong choice now, you can find your way back later in life. It's more important to keep moving.
Jacqueline François
I've spent my entire life in a state of balance. During my foundation year at University I did computer science as an elective and I loved it. Then my father had a heart attack and after graduating I chose to get involved in the family business. Years later, Francois would become involved with a software purchase and the intervention of her team led to improvements in the vendor's software.
Despite the concerns of other presenters, this world needs people who can sit by themselves and work out problems that need to be dealt with.
Frances Correia
I have a big title, but basically, I'm in sales for an IT company. While pursing a business degree, she stumbled into computer science when a teacher identified her talent and pushed her to pursue the degree. A particularly engaging and straightforward speaker with a gritty Trini lilt to her speaking voice.
I don't have a passion for IT for itself, I like what it can do, how it can enable solutions and deliver a better quality of life. I've finally learned to accept that IT and Business can work together effectively to deliver technology answers to their problems and that's what I do today.
The big gap between where you are today as a student and where you will end up is in developing creative thinking, preparing yourself for the problem solving issues of work life.
The bundle of experiences you have become a resource that you carry with you for the rest of your life.
Rhea Yawching
Remembered her dream of becoming a marine biologist being dashed and her father picking her subjects for her for O-levels. Proceeded through a series of jobs doing marketing at multinationals and confesses to having had no career fulfilment until coming to Columbus Communications five years ago.
Evidently, I was hired at Columbus because I knew nothing about technology. As it turns out, they were right. My job is to speak English. There are two sides to Flow, the side that creates technology and the side that sells it. Being able to bridge that divide and communicate what we were about and position it for customer needs turned out to be a pretty important thing.
Geeks rule. Geeks are the new "black."
Camille Selvon-Abrahams
Began in art. We have to be persistent. I know a lot of women in my industry who are also persistent. Signed up to study without a cent in her pocket and got an opportunity to study and pay as she went along. On her return to T&T began the Animae Caribe festival ten years ago. I did something specific then, though I didn't realise it at the time. I created exposure, because I didn't think people knew enough about animation.
To get this into UTT, I got told no many times before we got the programme started.
I came from a challenging background, but I never used that as an excuse not to succeed or to limit me in any way.
Panellists at Microsoft’s DigiGirlz day. From left, Rhea Yaw Ching, Frances Correia, Jacqueline François, Margaret Bernard and Ramona Ramdial. Photography by Mark Lyndersay.
Last Tuesday, an impressive gathering of schoolgirls showed up for the first Caribbean edition of Microsoft’s DigiGirlz series of youth focused seminars.
According to Pradeep Raman, General Manager, Microsoft Trinidad and Tobago, the company began the DigiGirlz project as part of its diversity programme and has specifically emphasised it in the Caribbean and Latin America to, in Raman’s words, “reach out to young women at the inflection point in their lives when they are making decisions about their future.”
The young women were in for a mixed bag of sometimes opinionated advice, Microsoft soft-sell and at least one hour’s worth of riveting life stories from female professionals delivered at firehose pressure.
The DigiGirlz experience is different depending on where it’s hosted and what kind of resources are available. There’s an online component with curriculum material here.
Out of the half-day of the event that I witnessed, it’s fair to say that the young ladies got their day’s worth out of just the panel discussion, which brought a rich resource of female professionals to bear on the mission encouraging young women to set the bar high for their ambition.
Senator Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam, Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration, sitting in for an unavoidably absent but apparently keenly interested Prime Minister for the feature remarks, gave a talk that seemed to be as much about cautioning the young attendees about the dangers of technology as it was about flogging the Ministry's ICT initiatives. It was hard to tease from the former teacher's speech a clear and unequivocal call to engagement in hardcore ICT.
That wasn’t the case with the panellists who were often borderline militant in their call to arms for the cause of young women in the digital workplace.
“I’m going to put in a plug here for mathematics,” said UWI Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, Margaret Bernard.
“It’s a base that will take you anywhere and if you have a feel for it, pursue it. I’d like to differ a bit on the kind of statistics I'm hearing about girls. In our bachelor’s classes, half of them are young women. There are also many females pursuing other studies. There is no glass ceiling in careers. Everything is open to you.”
Frances Correia, executive vice-president for Government business, Fujitsu Caribbean, proved to be a particularly engaging and straightforward speaker with a gritty Trini flavoured speaking voice.
“I have a big title, but basically, I'm in sales for an IT company,” she began, encouraging a titter from her audience.
“I don't have a passion for IT for itself, I like what it can do, how it can enable solutions and deliver a better quality of life.”
“The big gap between where you are today as a student and where you will end up is in developing creative thinking, preparing yourself for the problem solving issues of work life. The bundle of experiences you have become a resource that you carry with you for the rest of your life.”
“I came from a challenging background,” local animation champion Camille Selvon-Abrahams said, “but I never used that as an excuse not to succeed or to limit me in any way.”
It would fall to Jacqueline François, COO of Oscar François Limited, who set aside a potential career in IT to return to her family’s business to wave a flag for programming.
“Despite the concerns of other presenters,” François said, “this world needs people who can sit by themselves and work out problems that need to be dealt with.”
Thematically, it seemed that nobody at the DigitGirlz panel set out to do what they are doing now. Here are some more complete notes from their talks with the girls.
Margaret Bernard
I'm going to put in a plug here for mathematics. It's a base that will take you anywhere and if you have a feel for it, pursue it. I'd like to differ a bit on the kind of statistics I'm hearing about girls. In our bachelors classes, half of them are young women. There are also a large number of females pursuing other studies. There is no glass ceiling in careers. Everything is open to you.
Offered warning that the ICT work isn't solitary, you don't necessarily sit by yourself coding.
ICT is an opportunity to build your own business or to create an opportunity for yourself.
It's possible to find a balance, to have a career and to put your family first.
Life meanders, even if you make the wrong choice now, you can find your way back later in life. It's more important to keep moving.
Jacqueline François
I've spent my entire life in a state of balance. During my foundation year at University I did computer science as an elective and I loved it. Then my father had a heart attack and after graduating I chose to get involved in the family business. Years later, Francois would become involved with a software purchase and the intervention of her team led to improvements in the vendor's software.
Despite the concerns of other presenters, this world needs people who can sit by themselves and work out problems that need to be dealt with.
Frances Correia
I have a big title, but basically, I'm in sales for an IT company. While pursing a business degree, she stumbled into computer science when a teacher identified her talent and pushed her to pursue the degree. A particularly engaging and straightforward speaker with a gritty Trini lilt to her speaking voice.
I don't have a passion for IT for itself, I like what it can do, how it can enable solutions and deliver a better quality of life. I've finally learned to accept that IT and Business can work together effectively to deliver technology answers to their problems and that's what I do today.
The big gap between where you are today as a student and where you will end up is in developing creative thinking, preparing yourself for the problem solving issues of work life.
The bundle of experiences you have become a resource that you carry with you for the rest of your life.
Rhea Yawching
Remembered her dream of becoming a marine biologist being dashed and her father picking her subjects for her for O-levels. Proceeded through a series of jobs doing marketing at multinationals and confesses to having had no career fulfilment until coming to Columbus Communications five years ago.
Evidently, I was hired at Columbus because I knew nothing about technology. As it turns out, they were right. My job is to speak English. There are two sides to Flow, the side that creates technology and the side that sells it. Being able to bridge that divide and communicate what we were about and position it for customer needs turned out to be a pretty important thing.
Geeks rule. Geeks are the new "black."
Camille Selvon-Abrahams
Began in art. We have to be persistent. I know a lot of women in my industry who are also persistent. Signed up to study without a cent in her pocket and got an opportunity to study and pay as she went along. On her return to T&T began the Animae Caribe festival ten years ago. I did something specific then, though I didn't realise it at the time. I created exposure, because I didn't think people knew enough about animation.
To get this into UTT, I got told no many times before we got the programme started.
I came from a challenging background, but I never used that as an excuse not to succeed or to limit me in any way.
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