Dominican girls encouraged to choose a career in ICT

Girls in Dominica have been encouraged to develop an interest in Information and Communications Technologies or ICT’s and consider it as a possible career option.

This sensitization was done as Dominica joined the rest of the world today Thursday April 26 in observing GIRLS in ICT DAY.

The day was established by the United Nations specialized agency for Information and Communication Union (ITU) and will be celebrated on each fourth Thursday in April every year. This is the first year that such a day is being celebrated globally.

Dominica’s Telecommunications Minister Hon. Ambrose George in an address to mark the day said the day will afford girls to get acquainted with the opportunities for education and work in the ICT field.

“The objective is to make ICT familiar to girls and to present to them the jobs within this sector, as well as to motivate them to opt for a career related to these technologies”.

Minister George said this initiative fits into Dominica’s wider International embrace of the UN Millennium Development goals to promote gender equality and to empower women.

“We anticipate that this new Girls in ICT day will serve as a new modality of awareness and provide a much needed boost to female participation in the ICT sector. This is all-the-more important at a time when many countries are now forecasting a shortage of skilled ICT professionals with the next ten years. More importantly the ICT sector provides, excellent opportunities for entrepreneurship, excellent employment opportunities and very good remuneration and therefore a career in technology represent an excellent choice for girls in every country worldwide”.

The Telecommunications Minister noted that “while many young women in Dominica become users of technology and have a general awareness in ICT there is a fundamental gap in the percentage of women who pursue careers in database management system, network management, web technologies and multi- media applications”.

During the day’s observance a number of schools on the island spearheaded activities to bring a greater focus on the need for the female students to focus their interest on learning ICT’s.