Essay contest to explore tech potential for gender equality

Manama : Nebula, an initiative launched by C5 in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced an essay competition for female students and professionals to explore technology’s potential for greater gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

Two winners of the contest will be selected to attend the AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington DC from June 20-21 for a chance to spend time with members of the AWS executive team as well as an opportunity to meet the team of C5 PeaceTech Accelerator.

The competition, which was launched on the April 9, is open to Bahraini women university undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in any accredited college, or university in Bahrain or abroad. 

Bahraini women professionals over the age of 18 with an appetite for tech are also eligible and will compete in a separate category. The contest is open till April 30.

Nebula, C5’s “Women in tech” initiative was launched in September 2017 by Hadyah Fathalla, Executive Director of C5 Accelerate, as an initiative that aims to inspire and encourage aspiring women technopreneurs to explore and develop cloud-based products and solutions and engage and excel in the tech space through mentorship, connectivity, and technology to increase awareness, appetite, and aptitude.

“Contestants may write on any topic at the intersection of technology and gender equality like How digital fluency and access to technology can lead to gender equality, How STEM programs and open-source education can help upskill and empower women or Why/How the tech industry solves different problems if women played more leading roles wherein the essays can be submitted online at our website,” Hadyah said.

“Providing Bahraini women equal opportunities in the workplace so that they advance their careers and contribute towards building a better Bahrain is an integral part of BisB strategy towards diversity and inclusion. BisB’s partnership with C5 is a modest contribution toward empowering Bahraini women,” Hassan Jarar, Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain Islamic Bank, the official sponsor of the competition, stated.

“On a global scale, women are statistically poorer and have lower literacy rates and fewer opportunities to access non-traditional skills than men. This often leads to socioeconomic deprivation and exploitation and creates a distinctive gender bias in the workplace. Technology is fundamentally changing how we live, largely for the better, and it has the power to equally impact and improve women’s lives,” Hadyah said.

“We launched Nebula, and the essay competition, to encourage women to think proactively about using tech to better their lives and the lives of others and to imagine practical solutions to improving the status of women in tech,” Hadyah said.

“Applications will be judged anonymously based on the main points and supporting arguments, structure and organisation and content effectiveness and style. The essay should specifically focus on technology’s potential for greater gender equality and women’s empowerment,” Hadyah said.