Celebrating #GirlsInICT: Susan Zulu – Lungu
Celebrating #GirlsInICT: Susan Zulu – Lungu. Role: Manager – Consumer Segments, Airtel Zambia
Techtrends: Why should more girls take up technology or ICT-related subjects?
Susan: Because Prince charming isn’t coming! Girls have been conditioned to think that fairy tales are real and someone will one day come and take responsibility for you but the truth is you have to play your part in taking responsibility for your life. It’s time for girls to decide what they want for their futures. It sounds harsh but the greats in the industry right now have blazed a trail so hot we have no excuse:
– Mitwa K. N’gambi – Chief Commercial Officer at Millicom – Monica Musonda – Board Chairman Airtel Zambia
– Charity Lumpa – former Airtel CEO
– Mizinga Melu – CEO and Director, Barclays
– Regina Mtonga from Asikana Network
The list is long and all these are Zambian women proving it has been and is being done.
You must want it all for yourself because you can have it all, you don’t have to choose between family and a career. The number of women in the ICT space can and must increase because ICT is a sector that is taking lead in most of the areas of our lives, communication, banking, money transfer etc. So why should more girls take up ICT related subjects? Simply because ICT is the future!
Techtrends: What can Zambia do to help them get to where they want to be in their careers?
Harriet: In February 2017, the BBC reported that England would begin offering cybersecurity lessons to students aged 14 and above for the next five years as a pilot, this was a warning against the skills shortage and the country being undermined if the cyber security skills were not readily available. There is a considerable gap between the ICT skills in Zambia compared to a country such as England which needs to be bridged, however if this is a red flag that is being raised by a considerably advanced ICT oriented country then there is a learning for Zambia in terms of what direction we should be taking . ICT should be the core of clubs and mandatory subjects going forward in schools and offered for free where possible. That is the only way we will guarantee a place for ourselves as a country in the foreseeable future .
