Dhaka, March 17 (Daily Sun): Women in Bangladesh have shown excellence in technology businesses apart from leading local and international venture in last ten years with policy supports from the government.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, Daily Sun tried to review the contribution of women in leadership role at different segments of technology from entrepreneurship to executive role.
From private sector, Microsoft former country manager Sonia Bashir Kabir, Oracle Bangladesh country manager Rubaba Dowla and Shohoz super app founder managing director Maliha Quadir came up with their shining performance.
Regarding the leadership of women in technology, Sonia Bashir Kabir said, “Bangladeshi women are blossoming into leadership roles, mostly driven by young female founders of tech startups.”
“When a female founder attracts foreign investors in her company, she automatically attracts global attention. We have a few trail blazers like Maliha Malek Quader, Sylvana Sinha and Ivy Huq Russell.” Sonia, founder of SBK Tech Ventures, told the Daily Sun.
Dell Asia Pacific region advisory board member, Sonia also plays influential role as vice chair and governing council member of UN Technology Bank to democratise technology in the least developed countries (LDCs).
Oracle Bangladesh country managing director Rubaba Dowla is leading the local chapter of multinational computer company with long experience in telecommunication sector.
“The possibilities are endless when it comes to using technology to address social problems. I believe, the more women get access to technology and become digitally savvy, the less discrimination and inequality there will be,” Rubaba Dowla told the Daily Sun on Saturday.
She said the theme of “chose the challenge” as vital role to build an environment that embodies values of inclusion, equity and diversity through unconscious bias.
“Mitigating bias will enable all of us to nurture a culture of respect and belonging across any workplace. At Oracle, we believe that innovation starts with inclusion and we are always committed to creating a workplace for people with diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and abilities,” Rubaba said.
From startup segment, Shohoz has achieved a growth from a ticketing platform to a super app model under leadership of its visionary founder CEO Maliha Quadir.
According to Maliha, although the participation of women in top executive levels is very little in global and local tech firms, the young entrepreneurs have begun to change the landscape.
“I have seen things changing for the better over the last 5 years. Slowly, more women are coming to tech and to startups. At Shohoz, we have a good number of very talented women,” Maliha Quadir said.
Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) senior vice president Farhana Rahman, E-commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECab) President Shomi Kaiser and Women in Ecommerce Forum President Nasima Akter Nisha have shown excellence in leading trade bodies.
Basis senior vice president Farhana A Rahman said the lack of awareness on tech education for girls is “a major hindrance for lower participation of women in technology.” “From government, from private sector, we have been trying to promote girls in technology. However, the inspiration from family is important to make a women programmers or entrepreneur successful.”
In startup segment, there are many young girls come forward with excellence in top levels. Of which, Maya App founder CEO Ivy Huq Russell, ShopUp co-founder Siffat Sarwar, JustStorys CEO Breity Sabrin tried to do something new with technology.
In very recent time Facebook authority has appointed Sabhanaz Rashid Diya as a public policy manager.
She is going to look after Bangladesh matters which became an inspiration for many young girls in the country to involve in global platform.
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