As the year comes to a close and we welcome fresh beginnings, Girls in Tech Singapore would like to gift you 3 actions you can take in 2017 to empower yourself and those around you.
Embark on this mission and keep it alive by sharing our message and accomplishing just one of these today.
Sponsor a Woman
Sponsorship is not all gifts and prizes.
Let’s not forget that the most valuable things in life aren’t always easily quantifiable – like keeping the door of opportunity open, teaching someone the ropes when not everyone is willing to, and giving advice so that another person will know what’s the best thing to do, when they’re fumbling in the dark… We have all been there.
All of this takes time, patience, effort, deep thought, skill and heart on your part, and every woman has something they have experienced and learned from that they can gift to another woman, including you.
Some do this by subtly giving women the opportunity to advance in the boardroom, some step forward to volunteer their skills and time, while others express their support by helping to raise funds to facilitate this, ensuring this message gets passed on.
Sponsorship can go by many names, but it’s the deed that counts!
Learn to Code
It really is a bit like making a meal – instructive, sequential, possibly some mishaps on the first try and difficult to perfect to Michelin standards. There are many online platforms offering free programming courses like Coursera, EdX, Udemy, Khan Academy and CodePath.
Pick one, stick with the program like glue and complete your first course before moving on to the mains and desserts. Then treat yourself to some chocolate cake to celebrate, and get another girl/woman to do the same.
Online courses have lower completion rates, so if you think this might be the case for you, join an in-person programming course, which requires you to turn up for classes and share the course with your friends so you can do it together and keep one another on track.
Participate
Join a mixer or event which supports diversity – Meet some like-minded friends, learn something new and share it. Participating also means having a say, which you do.
Join the conversation, speak your mind with grace and share your knowledge bearing in mind that your words will impact the future – you are too wise to be keeping it all to yourself!
