The forgotten Cameroonian woman

So here I am , at 03.26 am, not able to sleep ( courtesy of my course essays), wondering what will happen to my Cameroonian sisters who appear to technologically challenged.

Cameroon does not exactly have a developed IT industry. So, I wonder sometimes what things will be like for me, when I get back home. The issues I have to deal with when I get back home are twofold. I have to navigate the murky waters which is the budding IT industry, and the fight to establish my self as a woman in a predominantly male industry.

The problems facing women in IT do not exist in Cameroon only. Far from it. It is a global predicament. When I was studying for my undergraduate degree at the University of Buea, i had a friend reading Physics. I don't think there were more than 5 girls in a class of maybe 25. The rest of us, flocked to "easier" programs. I read Journalism and Mass Communications myself, and I must say I never really thought of a numerate degree as an option. Come to think of it, I even thought Law was too stressful for me. From my high school, only three girls ( me included) out of about 75 went into the IT field.

Things seem to be changing though. Presently in the UK, schools, and indeed, Organisations, are encouraging girls to start thinking of careers in IT from an early age. Women are being targeted in recruitment drives. An IT career is no longer thought of as the divine property of the alpha male.For women here, their future in IT seems quite bright indeed.

This is very encouraging. But amid all this excitement, I think about my Cameroonian sisters. What does their future look like? is it Orange? Surely not. The men in Cameroon are still trying to find their feet when it comes to IT. The few oppportunities which exist will surely go to the men. They are the ones who afterall, are considered more technical, and by extension, more interlligent. There will be no long 9 months leave after training them. So, surely investing in a woman is waste of time right? WRONG!!!!

Women have been known to be as hardworking as men, and sometimes even more hardworking. Plus, there is the misconception that IT is only about computers, and micro fibres. My degree is all about managing IT in organisations, and improving the performances of IT business systems. IT is not remotely as technical as I thought it would be.

There are many things that could be done with IT. I can't even go into it now. I can feel my eye lids calling out to each other already.

I think however, that if we start by changing the attitudes of Cameroonian women towards IT, we can convince them to consider pursuing an IT related career.