Mariéme Jamme: “Women cannot be excluded from the tech conversation”

[Music] so my name is Miriam Zhang and I'm the founder of I am the code I found it I am the code seven months ago but I'm a tech entrepreneur and I've been working in a tech space for eighteen years now and I created I am the call to mobilize government private sector investors to invest in STEM subjects but more particularly to really look into how we can you know by 2030 have 1 million women and girls coders but be part of the digital revolution actually I didn't have any career in tech because I didn't go to school I didn't have any formative education I become a tech activist and I took entrepreneur you know by accident you know but you know so when I was growing up you know I never had access to education like I said I'm from Senegal and you know and had a difficult childhood but when I was in the UK I and I decided you know tech technology was a way of you know really empowering myself but also empowering all the women across Africa not in Africa only but also in the UK in the Middle East in in Asia and I think it's important that women and girls are part of the conversation when it comes to tech and innovation because we are consumers we consume all these technologies but I think we need to be part of the conversation so I think one of my intention is to make sure women and girls are part of the platform the systems we're building all the apps the data we you know we consuming and we need to be part of that and I think we can't be excluded in the conversation anymore that's why I could I am the code I think I think the advice I'm gonna give to any young women or you know a young girl wanted to get into intro science and technology and engineering and March and art either in design you can actually do it now there are you know 10 years ago 15 years ago maybe was hard for you know for you to learn you know how to code a line of Java or line of Python but I think now you can go online you know you can there are so many communities you know there are so many organization teaching young women how to code but also you know try to aim to become a digital leader of tomorrow you know in the next 10-15 years you know if you want to have a career with a high-level paid job you know you are you you can do this work so there's no shyness in getting into it go aggressive you know where the men are going go there don't stop yourself a technology is not just a main conversation we have amazing women you know in the world who've been inventors they've been designers they've been creating companies so there's nothing stopping us and just a bias so but you know join I am the code or join an organization that find friends in the in the in the sector as well I would say you know speaker in your school create a community of tech women in your class in your school in your organization have a breakfast meeting with all the women in tech so nothing really shouldn't stop you to become a tech woman entrepreneur I mean like upping technology you know we all know that technology can change lives right we know that from you know designing a very simple solar power to DIY DIY kid we have here in you know in our stand is that anybody can have the technology but sometimes it's not a technology such is how they implemented how do you scan it how do you grow it and how do you make sure that marginalized communities people refugees young women young girls all around the world have access to the technology and we are at the web server with an amazing organ is an amazing event you know in a place where the best technologies are here the best innovation guys are here the best investors are here you know you know but you know having investors technologists and and people without giving access to you know the marginalized communities we can't build solutions anymore for the elites or for certain group of people and so I think as a community from the Web Summit when we go in home like tonight we need to make sure that you know marginalized communities young women and girls have access to technology like my girls in Uganda or in Senegal or in Afghanistan wherever you are women should have access to a technology so I think my takeaway the Web Summit is that you know let's build amazing solutions amazing innovations but let's make it accessible for the marginalized communities as well