Regina Honu
Bridging the gender gap in tech
Roughly half of the world isn’t online or digitally savvy enough to access 21st century jobs. These numbers increase drastically as we zoom in on women, rural areas and other excluded groups. Regina is bridging this digital divide in West Africa. Through Soronko Academy she equips thousands of women and girls with the technical and soft skills they need to attain dignified, fulfilling jobs and overcome the gender gap in the tech sector. Soronko has become the go-to place for tech companies looking to recruit women to their teams. But access to training alone would never begin to address the full scope of barriers keeping women from attaining tech jobs. Soronko Academy's strength lies in linking each girl's achievements to her community's pride and prosperity. Regina and her team invest heavily in helping pastors, imams, mothers, teachers and other gatekeepers be part of their success.
Impact
Trained 10,000+ women girls in tech
Scaled across Ghana Burkina Faso
Set up the first coding and human centered design school in West Africa
Shaping the creation of Ghana's national Information Communication Technology body
Member of Young Africa Works project to connect 2.1 million Ghanaian women to dignified and fulfilling work
Interesting fact from Regina:
"As we empower women, we have to understand and inform the communities that they are going back to. When working with a Muslim community, for example, we have to figure out how to reach and connect with the men. That means going on the radio to do a program targeted at men or having discussion groups with just men. We have to always understand the ecosystem we are in and bring in community leaders. Whether it’s a pastor, an imam or a chief, when community leaders say something, everybody listens. Recognizing that women and teachers can be the gatekeepers of patriarchy, it’s very important to bring them along as well."
