On August 31, 2019, Huawei Technologies Kenya CEO Stone He announced the launch of the Women in Technology (WITH) programme, a deliberate effort to empower women to access senior leadership positions on merit.
The programme aims to increase the number of women in IT at the firm and across the industry, with a long-term plan to see men and women in technology share positions and benefits equally.
According to Maureen Mwaniki, the programme's lead, the current share of women in tech at Huawei Kenya stands at 25%, but the company seeks to take it to 40% in the next few years.
Ms Mwaniki also stated that the number of women in other specialisations within the firm will be increased, with a goal of increasing women in procurement from 6.9% to 7.3% in the next year.
Grace Waiyaki, Programme Manager at Safaricom, noted that a lot needed to be done across the board for this to be realised, while eMentoring Africa Founder and Director Esther Muchiri emphasized the need for more resources to be channelled towards women's mentorship and increasing networking opportunities.
