800 young women to benefit from digital literacy initiative as part of International Women’s Day celebrations
DENVER, COLORADO — Liberty Latin America Ltd (LLA), the parent company of BTC (the Bahamas Telecommunications Company), has joined together with the Society of Women Coders to launch an initiative aimed at empowering the next generation of women leaders in technology fields.
The partnership will provide the opportunity for 800 young women across the Caribbean and Latin America to participate in a 20-week virtual course focused on digital literacy, web development and coding skills.
This effort is part of Liberty Latin America’s 2022 celebration of International Women’s Day and its ongoing commitment to pursue greater equality, diversity and inclusion.
In many ways, gender-based violence has been a shadow pandemic. Across our region, statistics show a surge in cases of violence and we strongly believe that more needs to be done.
– Kerry Scott, LLA
Kerry Scott, chief people officer, Liberty Latin America, commented on the partnership, saying: “Creating opportunities for young women to learn more about technology and pursue careers in STEM fields is an investment in our future.
“Through our collaboration with the Society of Women Coders, we are helping to train the next generation of leaders, providing a valuable learning opportunity and equipping young women with the knowledge, skills and access that will serve them well into the future.
“As we celebrate International Women’s Day under the theme #BreakTheBias, this is a tangible way we are contributing to the push for greater gender equality.”
Kavya Krishna, co-founder and CEO of the Society of Women Coders, said: “We are proud to partner with Liberty Latin America on such an important effort to provide access and technology training for young women.
“Through our work around the world, we have seen firsthand the impact that can be made in communities by empowering women and teaching them digital literacy skills.
“This program provides not only technical training but offers mentorship, leadership skills and networking that will be beneficial long after the course is completed.”
In addition to this partnership, Liberty Latin America will celebrate International Women’s Day by bringing the company’s nearly 12,000 employees together through a virtual summit on March 8, 2022.
Over the past four years, the company has implemented a number of innovative policies regarding parental leave, flexible working environments, gender-neutral hiring practices and employee assistance programs. Thanks to these efforts and others underway, the company is close to its goal of 50 percent gender-equitable representation across the business.
Last year, the company also published its gender-based violence (GBV) policy and made it publicly available on its website for other organizations to learn from and utilize.
On the topic of gender-based violence, Scott said: “In many ways, gender-based violence has been a shadow pandemic. Across our region, statistics show a surge in cases of violence and we strongly believe that more needs to be done.
“We are fully committed to playing a meaningful role in helping to eradicate gender-based violence within the communities where we live and work.
“We hope that by making our policy public that others can learn from it and adopt their own measures to join in the fight.”
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