Google Colombia II

 According to Unesco, in 2022 only 30% of the total technology sector workforce in Latin America are women. For Colombia specifically, according to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, in 2022 only 35% of the IT sector is made up of women. Existing public policies do not provide the necessary incentives to encourage job placement for women in the IT sector. Furthermore, women have traditionally been excluded from the sector, resulting in lost opportunities for the industry and the economy.

In Colombia, young women face more obstacles than young men in accessing vocational education and jobs in the IT sector. Of the total number of participants in the Google IT Support Certification Program implemented in Colombia, only 36% were women while 64% were men.

According to "The Future of Jobs Report 2020" (The World Economic Forum, 2020), Covid-19 caused a greater need for women to develop digital skills and created new opportunities in this field. This is due to the fact that digitalization has become a fundamental element to develop remote activities of daily life such as education, work, sales for companies, and medical consultations, among others. However, due to inequality in access, fewer women than men have benefited from these opportunities. Data from Ruta N (Think Tank specializing in the IT sector in Colombia) indicates that only 27% of the technology workforce is female.

According to the National System of Information on Higher Education (SNIES) in Colombia, the completion rate of face-to-face education is around 66% while the completion rate of virtual or distance education is only 33%. Of those that complete virtual or distance education, 40% corresponds to women.

There’s a technology workforce gap in the IT sector. In 2020, there were 36,184 job vacancies in the sector; however, just 26,017 students graduated from IT-related vocational training programs, highlighting the inadequate promotion, training, and preparation of young people to meet labor demand in the sector. 

For that reason, Google.org is working with IYF to train 1150 young people (70% women) with technical skills (Google Career Certificates), socioemotional skills, and employability support to help them secure employment in the IT sector.

To make this possible, our implementing partner will be Unicafam, based in Bogotá. 
 

With funding from