On 25 April 2024, on the occasion of Girls in ICT Day, the WIDE ANDCO team organised a private event in the presence of Yuriko Backes, Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity, as well as students from 42 Luxembourg.
Girls in ICT Day is a global initiative of ITU (UN agency) celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April. Its aim is to raise awareness of the gender gap in ICT by encouraging more women and girls to choose this field, promoting digital opportunities exclusively for them.
Marina Andrieu, Founder and Director of WIDE ANDCO, gave an in-depth overview of this issue during her speech, referring to current statistics. She mentioned in particular that only 9% of developers in Europe are women, 19% of IT specialists in Europe are women, (20% in Luxembourg, ranked 8th in the DESI 2022 index). When it comes to leadership positions, only 11% of startups in Europe are led by women. So there is still work to be done, so Marina and the WIDE ANDCO team decided to tackle this issue by proposing activities that will help more women to take an interest in the ICT field. WIDE ANDCO therefore offers training and services in three main areas of intervention: digital skills for all, gender equality and inclusive entrepreneurship.
The Minister for Gender Equality and Diversity, Yuriko Backes, took the opportunity to share a few words of encouragement on this subject, reminding the students: “You have a passion for it, follow your passion, but don’t be afraid! Go further, even if it can be a bit intimidating, and you will be role models for other women in this field as well.” (translated from English)
At this remarkable event, we also had testimonials from Ira Unikel, Elodie Hamm and Kayleigh van Dongen, three female students from 42 Luxembourg who also benefited from the services of WIDE ANDCO and were nominated to share their inspiring stories and unique paths towards programming and IT.
Ira Unikel has a wealth of experience in marketing and is also the Founder of Lyyra, a communication agency based in Luxembourg. She is a female worker who has worked for several large companies in recent years and has always been able to climb the corporate ladder. Elodie Hamm is a passionate traveler with a Master's degree in Finance. She made headlines by winning first place at this year's H-W3B Hackathon, along with her team. Kayleigh van Dongen has a Master of Science degree and also has an educational background as a chemistry teacher. In addition to this, Kayleigh is a freelancer for projects related to game design and the creation of websites and applications in low/no code.
These women have all decided to change their career path by entering 42 Luxembourg in order to acquire new skills that will allow them either to adapt to rapid changes in the market, or to have the opportunity to access a more flexible job, or simply to challenge themselves.
During the discussion, the speakers gave us a brief overview of what it is like to be a student in 42 Luxembourg. Elodie said that it is difficult because you have to work to succeed by learning mainly on your own, but what makes it easier is the support of other students. Ira described this experience as a challenge but also as a life change. She appreciated the education system and described it as “intelligent” as it pushes students to organically unite to learn together, despite their different age groups. For Kayleigh, being a student at 42 Luxembourg is a roller coaster, the programming part is easy for her but what makes things more difficult is the constant commitment.