• Friday, March 29, 2024
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20,000 women across Africa to be trained by Google

20,000 women across Africa to be trained by Google

Google has announced plans to train 20,000 women across Africa this year in honour of the International Women’s Day (IWD), aiming to achieve this through a number of training initiatives.

The company in a statement following an IWD event in Lagos yesterday, said a new Women Will training tour aims to train 5,000 women in 17 cities across Africa including Abeokuta, Abuja, Ado Ekiti, Ibadan, Yaba, Uyo and 5 other cities in Nigeria. Through this program, Google says it will empower participating women with Entrepreneurship, Workplace Readiness, Leadership and Technology Skills, starting with an empowerment drive in March and April.

An additional 15,000 women in Africa are also to be trained through community-driven training initiatives via Women Will communities across Sub-saharan Africa, Google said.

“On International Women’s Day in 2019, Google announced the launch of Women Will, Google’s initiative to create opportunities for women, in Africa under the Grow with Google umbrella,” said Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, head, Brand & Reputation, Google SSA. “Since then, we have reached more than 10,000 women across eight countries and 26 communities. With 26 chapters across Africa, Women Will has helped create access to networks, skills and opportunities for women across the continent.”

According to a 2012 World Development Report cited in a statement by Google, women account for 40 percent of the global labour force and are more likely to work in less productive sectors than their male counterparts. A similar report by UN Women also shows that women are more likely to be unemployed than men. Based on historical data, 2017 global unemployment rates stood at 5.5 percent for women relative to 6.2 percent for men and this is projected to remain unchanged till 2021.

“Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and sustainable development goals, particularly to achieve gender equality, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all and reducing inequalities,” Aderemi Makinde said.

“Google remains committed to providing a platform for women to achieve their potential and to grow,” she adds.

Aderemi Makinde also explained that since 2016, Google has trained young people and SMEs in Africa through its Digital Skills for Africa program to help them find jobs and grow their businesses. To date, the programme has trained more than 5 million people, 48 percent of which are women.