eHealth Academy launches all-female cohort to close gender gap in tech
eHealth Academy launches all-female cohort to close gender gap in tech
eHealth Africa is a non-governmental organization that was founded in 2009 with a simple mission: to improve healthcare access for Africa's hard-to-reach communities and underserved areas. Through the application of appropriate technology, the organization is able to successfully design, implement, manage, and evaluate health-related projects.
Its offices in Kano and Abuja, Nigeria, are currently engaged in projects in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, with additional offices in Ghana and the United Kingdom. It has offices in the United States and Germany, as well as on the continent of North America and Europe.
In 2016, the organization opened its first eHealth Academy (eHA) in Conakry, Guinea, to train healthcare professionals. The eHA team devised an eight-week curriculum that focused on software development and network engineering principles and techniques. The courses were taught by experienced instructors who brought their knowledge of software design and development to Guinea.
In an interview with Technext, Juliana Jacob, Senior Communications Associate for eHealth Africa, stated that the academy is typically free for all program participants, regardless of gender.
It was developed to help West African software developers maintain the eHA's surveillance tools and systems after their programs were completed, according to the spokeswoman.
However, the organization observed a significant gender disparity in enrollment, with males enrolling at a significantly higher rate than females. Unfortunately, this gender divide appears to be growing in size year after year, which is unfortunate. As a result, the organization decided to try out a new strategy for the first time this year.
As the data from eHEALTH Africa demonstrates, women are unquestionably a minority in the technology industry in general. In the year 2020, the academy received a total of 1,623 applications from candidates interested in being admitted.
74 people were chosen to take part in the study after a rigorous selection process, with only 18 (or 24.3 percent) of those chosen being female.
That the majority of applicants were male, or that a significant proportion of female applicants were eliminated during the selection process, could be interpreted in a number of ways. In either case, it was a source of disagreement between the two parties.
In order to level the playing field, eHealth Africa is preparing to launch a training program that will be exclusively for women. Juliana Jacob, Senior Communications Associate at eHealth Africa, explained that the initiative was a way to contribute to the next generation of technology talent.
It was also explained by her that it was an attempt to close the gender gap in the technology industry.
Approximately 50-100 women will be given the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of web design, development, and development tools as part of this program's inaugural cohort. Apart from that, they will learn about HTML and CSS as well as JavaScript and HTML&JS: all of these languages and technologies are used to create interactive websites.
Applications and participation in the eHA Academy are both completely free of charge. A working knowledge of computers as well as access to a computer as well as a stable internet connection are required for participation in the program, which is open to females between the ages of 15 and 35 years old.
Participants from all over Nigeria will be able to participate in the program because it will be conducted virtually.
Nigeria's technology industry is undergoing a renaissance, which is generating increased interest among investors and entrepreneurs. Because of the large number of applications that are expected for this program, all applicants will be required to complete an online assessment before being considered. Following that, those who achieve the bare minimum required score will have their applications evaluated by an admissions committee.
The eHA Academy team is also making an effort to accommodate those who do not have access to internet services by making their central hubs in Kano and Abuja available to successful applicants as well.
Students are paired with mentors, who themselves must apply to the academy in order to receive the proper training and certification. Mentors must have at least two years of experience working with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, among other things. Mentorship positions are unpaid and are available to people of both sexes who meet the requirements.
Mentors are expected to be available via Slack to assist students with questions pertaining to the modules they are teaching. As an alternative to online courses, live sessions between mentors and students enable students to learn in real time while also receiving feedback and being evaluated on their progress.
Upon successful completion of the training program, students are offered the opportunity to participate in internships. The three-month unpaid internship is intended to provide students with the opportunity to put their classroom knowledge into practice.
One of the trainees has since been hired by eHealth Africa as a Senior Developer, demonstrating the training's effectiveness and relevance.
The eHA Academy is a social responsibility initiative sponsored by the eHA Foundation. It is a completely free program that is entirely funded by the generosity of donors. According to the organization, a global fundraising campaign has been launched, with nearly $2,000 of its $5,000 fundraising goal for this cohort already raised.
AfriLabs and other technology organizations, such as SheCodes, Women Who Code, Startup Kano, and others, have also lent their support to the project. Candidates benefit from these alliances because they provide opportunities for top students to intern at any of the organizations, allowing them to potentially advance their careers in the technology industry as a result of their participation.
Besides that, she stated that beneficiaries of previous cohorts have applied to be mentors out of a desire to give back, as they are aware of the program's positive impact on their lives.
