A lot has been said about the lack of voice and opportunity for women in technology, especially in leadership positions worldwide. According to a recent IDC report, only 20 percent of all programmers in the world are women.
In the meantime, many reports say the IT industry is one of the hottest, with demand for skilled software developers projected to increase by 22 percent in the next 10 years.
The situation in MENA is no different. Demand for software developers is soaring, while the number of women in technology is decreasing. One the main reasons behind this is simply culture and stereotype. Throughout many cultures in MENA, women and men are expected to take on specific stereotypical roles in their career.
“I think the mainstream media tends to affect us more than it should,” said computer science student Wiem Ben Rim. “In movies, news, TV series, usually the geek techy person is a guy. It’s hard for us to imagine a woman in power, as it is hard for us to think of a woman coder.”
“The situation differs from one country to another, and so we cannot generalize,” she continued.
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