Partnership with the NGO Recode, Digigirl develops skills in science, technology and mathematics, qualifies Brazilian women for the job market of the future and promotes greater gender equality in the sector.
Enrollment for the courses is now open, and graduates are competing for participation in DigiGirlz Day (11/19), which will be an ideathon and chat with leading women in the sector.
The new edition of DigiGirlz, Microsoft's worldwide program for training women in the technology, science, math and engineering sectors, is now on air. In Brazil, through a partnership with the NGO Recode, the project has two free online courses, followed by an ideathon, a group challenge to develop a proposal on the topic: “Woman: technology is for you! ”.
Disruptive projects
Carolina Evangelist
More than 65,000 women around the world have participated in DigiGirlz and had their lives transformed after the experience. the carioca Carolina Evangelist, 28, is one of them. In a trio with two other participants, Debora França and Camilly Priscila, Carolina showed that she was really sharp in the use of technologies and won the 2020 edition of Digigirlz. They developed a plan for an application called IABirth, to help pregnant women throughout the pregnancy process through artificial intelligence. The idea was based on the professional experience of the champion, who had already worked for nearly five years in a maternity hospital: “It was an incredible experience. I was able to use the knowledge I acquired during my work together with the technological knowledge. I was very happy to have our team's efforts recognized. It will be an eternal milestone in my life”, he celebrated.
Currently, Carolina Evangelista works as a designer at an edtech that incorporates fundamentals of IT and communication in education in order to support teaching and learning processes. Now, she wants other women to be able, like her, to conquer a place in the area in which they dream of developing a career. "Do not give up! Even if it seems difficult, believe in yourself, in your potential and be a good person to meet along the way. When you look back, you'll see that it was worth all the effort. Remember, a woman's place is where she wants it, including technology. We are making a difference and together we will be stronger”, he concludes.
Local action, global impact
The powerful alliance between Recode and Microsoft, which has lasted 23 years, seeks to embody the team of Brazilian talents in the IT segment, one of the most promising segments of the working world of the future, and to promote gender equality in the science sectors , mathematics, technology and engineering, where women still have little participation.
According UNESCO report, the shortage of women in these areas is a global problem: worldwide, only 35% of students in higher education in exact science courses are women, and only 3% of women in higher education choose to study courses in information technology and technology. In the labor market, the numbers are usually even lower: in the technological world, especially in the software world, female representation usually does not exceed 10%.
About DigiGirlz – DigiGirlz courses are free and online 100%, open to any woman over 18 from all over Brazil. Just sign up at https://go.recode.org.br/digigirlz/ and select the tracks of Technologies for the Future (40 hours) and Recode Methodology Inspirational Journey (10 hours).
All women who complete these two journeys are eligible to enroll, until 11/15, to compete for one of the 30 places on DigiGirlz Day – an event that takes place 100% online on November 19.
Those selected will receive a DigiGirlz kit with a personalized t-shirt, headphones, notebook, briefcase and also credits for a cell phone line as an allowance for internet use. On 11/19, they will participate in two lectures: “Employability and Careers in Technologies” and “Construction of Curriculum and Tools for Outplacement Search” – and then will be placed in groups to carry out the challenge “Woman, technology is for you!”.
With personalized mentoring and orientation rounds, a team will be selected according to criteria previously presented and each member of the winning team will receive a cell phone.
About Recode – Founded 26 years ago by social entrepreneur Rodrigo Baggio, Recode is an NGO that is present in nine countries through more than a thousand digital empowerment centers (CED). Aiming to promote digital inclusion, Recode develops methodologies to expand the impact of the actions of NGOs, libraries and partner public schools that are interested in developing digital skills and socio-emotional skills in young people, stimulating the protagonism and potential of the new generation as agents of social transformation. More than 1.7 million people have already been impacted and the numbers keep increasing every day.
About Microsoft – Microsoft enables digital transformation in the smart cloud and smart frontier era. Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. The company has been in Brazil for 32 years and is one of 120 subsidiaries of Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975. In 2020, the company invested more than US$ 13 million bringing technology free of charge to 1,765 NGOs in Brazil, benefiting various social projects. Since 2011, Microsoft has supported more than 7,500 startups in Brazil through donations of more than US$ 202 million in cloud credits.
