NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Members of team BTC were on hand to lend their full support at the annual Girls in ICT (GIICT) event, which gave young girls an in-depth look at what it’s like to pursue careers in the technical field. The event was held on April 25 at the British Colonial Hilton.
The event, spearheaded by the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), focuses on the coming together of its five licensees to find ways to equip girls and young women with the necessary skills to become Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals.
The GIICT event also raises awareness of the need for more girls and women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields.
Every year, BTC designates several women from its team to be featured at the annual event.
This year, the advice, roles, and accomplishments of three BTC team members, Tamara Ferguson, Ariel Rahming and Joan Romer were highlighted via videos at the GIICT event. Two BTC technicians, Demina Cartwright and Tracey Christie, were also on hand at the event to give some 100 girls an up close and personal look into their daily routines as fiber technicians. Both women spoke to the girls about their careers and demonstrated the steps for a successful fiber install.
BTC’s Head of Customer Experience, K. Teneile Simmons, attended the event and said, “It was so important for BTC to have a presence at Girls in ICT because of the message that it carries, which is to make young women aware of the different roles and career opportunities that are available in the ICT field.”
Simmons said, “We have a lot of women in our company who are doing some amazing things in ICT, and BTC has been a part of this event for almost 10 years. Also, given the fact that 60 percent of the workforce at BTC are women, we are always willing to inspire young girls to pursue careers in the field of telecommunications or ICT and we value the contributions that women have made over the years to ICT.”
Delivering remarks at the event was Minister of Educational and Technical and Vocational Training, the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, who told the young girls that there were many lucrative opportunities that they could pursue in ICT as the field, especially in the Bahamas, is largely underrepresented.
“The figures show that girls and women are underrepresented in this sector, and it’s a sector where you have huge new economic opportunities, so today is a day to bring focus to this underrepresentation,” Hanna-Martin said. “Historically, girls had a place and they had to know their place. This has since changed, but there are still some areas that are not balanced and today we highlight the challenge. We want to incentivize girls to start thinking outside of the box in the STEM fields.”
Remarks were also given by Krystle Rutherford–Ferguson, immediate past chairman of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce, and Minister of Energy and Transport, the Hon. Jobeth Coleby-Davis.
Diamond Panza, a tenth-grade student at C.I. Gibson Senior High School, said the GIICT event has taught her that women are able to pursue any career that they are interested in, even if it’s mainly dominated by men.
“Personally, I have never had an interest in ICT until attending this event today and listening to the guest panelists,” Panza said. “I’ve realized that a bias sometimes exists in the field of technology when it comes to women, so it’s events like these are important to teach young girls not to be deterred if they want to pursue a career in ICT. I now feel more encouraged to move into this role.”
The GIICT event also featured a Women in Leadership fireside chat, an interactive session sponsored by the National Computer Incident Response Team of The Bahamas, and a branding session that featured local social media influencers.
Two scholarships were also awarded – one to study overseas at Virginia State University and the other to enroll locally at the Department of Communications and Technology ICT Cadet Program.
