The Gender Technology Gap - A talk by Intel

Intel organized an interesting panel discussion on how women can benefit from technology and use the internet to become more independent and resourceful. It was hosted by their PR & Marketing Manager Asma Aziz.

The panel had notable women from different areas of expertise,i.e. beauty industry, content marketing/advertising, PR and the social sector. The women shared their views on how they have successfully incorporated technology into their respective business models. While almost all of them are commendable in their efforts, the story which particularly fascinated me was how technology can be used in the social sector, since this is an issue which is very close to my heart. 

It was very refreshing to hear Shazia Mirza from Manzil Foundation discussing how she managed to find a way to use technology to revamp her classrooms and connect them with the outside world. The school which she is running is in one of the slums of Karachi and mostly has students from the underprivileged class.

The dilemma of our education system is that the public schools have lowered their standards to such an extent that their students can in no way compete with students from private schools. As a result the inequality and societal gap is increasing alarmingly. To top it off, girls are specially ignored when it comes to good education and vocational training programs. 

Shazia realized this gap in the first year of running her school. after a lot of thought and research she decided to use the internet to connect her classrooms with learned teachers from all parts of the world. Screens were installed in classrooms and teachers were connected to their classes via Skype. This rather small investment made a huge difference in children. They were more knowledgeable, and confident with a lot of clarity in their thoughts. This small experiment is a proof that we can actually incorporate technology to uplift our education system without investing a fortune.

A mix of good talent and information technology can be the driving force in changing the education system and increasing literacy rate in Pakistan. A spirit of volunteering should be encouraged among professionals. This can be achieved either through a forum where professionals from various backgrounds can come together and work on small projects or they can enroll themselves for individual programs related to teaching, training or streamlining the education process in public schools.

Intel has already introduced programs targeted towards developing digital literacy skills in young girls with their “She Will Connect” program, along with the Diversity in Technology initiative to increase women representation at Intel. The program details can be viewed at their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IntelPakistan