Accelerating Action: Why Gender Equality in Tech Fuels Innovation

Women are being left behind in the world of work—and the disparity is impossible to ignore. Currently, only 42% of working-age women are part of the global workforce. And in some regions, it's even lower. For every two men with a job, there’s just one woman employed. The World Economic Forum estimates that women make up just 28% of the global STEM workforce and only 22% of artificial intelligence (AI) professionals.These figures speak for themselves: women remain significantly underrepresented in one of the most essential and fast-evolving industries globally.  

However, while women continue to face discrimination in the workplace, the data couldn’t be clearer—organizations that prioritize gender inclusion consistently outperform their peers. According to a study by McKinsey & Company, organizations with gender-diverse leadership teams are 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability. Another report by McKinsey & Company found that businesses with female leadership teams outperformed less gender-diverse companies by a staggering 48%. Diverse perspectives drive innovation, better decisions, and financial success.

To celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8^th we’re amplifying the voices of women from the Andela talent community who are accelerating action in technology, and across the world, telling their stories in their own words.  

Meet the women reshaping the tech landscape with their expertise, innovation, and forward-thinking vision; Annabel, a data scientist with 14 awards and counting, who’s leveraging AI to predict traffic jams; Omotayo, advancing sanitation systems and boosting business ROI with data analytics; Virginiah, revolutionizing African agriculture with fintech magic; Bridget, a back-end engineer mentoring future female tech leaders; and Samantha, a data analyst who broke barriers in naval engineering.  

I stood up for myself and requested a rule: that any team meeting needed to include everyone. This wasn't just about me being part of the team; it was about showing that everyone, regardless of gender, should be included.” Samantha Cruz

‍

Virginiah Periah:  African agriculture innovator, creating STEM geniuses

‍

“One of my proudest moments as a techie is when I was able to architect a solution which ended up making farmers across Africa bankable through integration of different financial APIs that we have in Africa. There are so many projects that are coming up which are going to make an impact and change how Africa sees and interacts with money.  

My passion for mentoring girls in STEM is also a way of me giving back to the community. A friend of mine started this community in northern Kenya, called Northern Box. We've been able to mentor young girls in STEM and particularly technology. This is a call for women to step out and challenge themselves. Because they can also do these things as well.”  

‍

Annabel Castro:  Google Award winner who predicts traffic jams with AI

‍

“Soon after I began my studies, my advisor suggested I focus on algorithms, and how to solve and manage traffic congestion, via real-time data on traffic conditions through map services, using AI. I loved my research, and deciphering how cars can communicate between themselves and different infrastructures all over the road. I developed one model for this, a natural ML (Machine Learning) algorithm that uses Bayes' Theorem to predict road congestion.

We can use data to build an ML model to predict whether there will be congestion in the future or not and if there will be, how we can suggest new routes so motorists can avoid traffic jams, but without causing panic and more chaos.  

In 2009, thanks to my research, I was the proud recipient of the Google Brazil Women in Technology Award. It was a game-changer in both my career progression and my industry visibility. I’ve won 13 more tech awards throughout my career.”

‍‍

Bridget Mendoza: Coding the future and inspiring 200 female tech leaders
‍

“I became a tutor in Andela’s Women in Tech Leadership Program. We helped to train over 200 female aspiring techies, sharing skills from software delivery to leadership and entrepreneurship.

Working with so many interesting women from diverse backgrounds was amazing. They were nurses, lawyers, businesswomen, farmers, and stay-at-home mothers, all keen to learn more about technology.  

Women in tech can experience a lot of gender bias, and it helped our learners to work closely with female tutors as they developed their skills. 

Something I always tell females I work with is: “If you have a dream, find a mentor who will help you get there.” We can all strive for greatness but having that support and guidance, whether it is a team leader who motivates you, or a friend who gives you the confidence to join a robotics club, is essential.”

‍

Omotayo Ikudayisi: Saving the environment one piece of data at a time

‍   

“The thing I love most about my job as a technologist is you can predict the future.  A data project I’m particularly proud of is about predicting environmental sanitation in Ekiti State. I went to the Waste Management ministry in Ekiti State to gather data about their environmental sanitation. I used Fréchet distribution (also known as the inverse Weibull distribution), to analyze data. Although it was used for predicting weather, I was inspired to transfer its use to environmental sanitation, using my findings to help recommend improvements for sanitation in the area.  

Another proud moment was contributing to a client’s technology that reengages their previous clients, bringing them back to the business. I worked on a dashboard that analyzes the database and sources data on previous or ‘resting’ clients who have connected with us in the last 180 days. This data is sent to our call center, who then engage the ‘resting’ client in conversations. This contributes to the business revenue, adding 15% to the return on investment quarterly.”

‍

‍Samantha Cruz: Broke gender barriers to thrive as a data investigator

‍‍

"As a Senior Data Analyst, my favorite part of the job is when we start a new project, and someone comes with a problem they have no clue how to solve, and I step in to do the investigation part. Navigating between the data and trying to make sense of things. I love puzzles, and I think this part of my work is similar to solving a puzzle.  

When I was studying Naval Engineering in college, I joined a team for a boat modeling competition. I was the first and only woman on the team. While traveling the country for competitions, it was common that the rest of the team would meet up at night in the boys' dorm to strategize, but I was left out because I stayed in the girls' dorm. In the end, I stood up for myself and requested a rule: that any team meeting needed to include everyone. This wasn't just about me being part of the team; it was about showing that everyone, regardless of gender, should be included. Today, the captain of the boat modeling team is female! I dream of a future where women are not just part of technology but are also leading it."  

Interested in working with Andela’s skilled network? Find out more about our private global talent marketplace.