Programme seeks women in technology for mentorship

What you need to know:

The initiative helps women to assert their roles in a historically male-dominated field.

An exchange programme aimed at mentoring women from Africa and Middle East is seeking applications for 2013.

TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from the Middle East and Africa together with their counterparts in the United States for a professional mentorship and exchange programme.

The initiative not only brings together women in technology from developed and developing countries; it also helps them assert their roles in a historically male-dominated field.

Starting from October 1 to November 6, participants will go through project-based mentorships in Silicon Valley and travel to Washington, DC for meetings and special events.

Other than Kenya, TechWomen is accepting applications from women in Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

“Eligible participants are women who are engaged or rising in professional careers that require significant expertise and knowledge of STEM fields and/or innovative application of these skills, and who already are —or show promise of being—role models for women and girls,” read a statement from Institute of International Education (IIE).

The applicants must also be a woman, a university degree holder with a minimum of two years of full-time professional experience in STEM fields and/or a career requiring significant expertise of technology.

Each woman is paired with a professional and a cultural mentor.

Each mentor has a unique role in supporting the participant throughout her time in the United States.

The programme now on its third year is an initiative of the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) and is managed by the IIE.

Last year, the programme attracted 550 applicants but only 42 were taken. This year, about 78 will be picked.

Launched by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011, TechWomen builds on her vision of “smart power diplomacy” embracing the full range of diplomatic tools, including technology, to bring people together for greater understanding and to empower women and girls worldwide.