Women were encouraged throughout Pakistan to direct the country’s information technology (TI) and electronic commerce sectors such as the ninth edition of Women Tech Quest (WTQ) took place in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore on Saturday.
The WTQ, an university initiative 10pearls, not only tests the technological skills of women, but also helps them obtain recognition and establish contacts with others in the industry, opening their paths to new opportunities.
In Karachi, the competition took place at the National Geneance Aerospace Science & Technology (Nastp), while in the capital it was held at the Nust School of Electrical and Informatics Engineering, and at the University of Central of Central Punjab (UCP ) In Lahore.
In all cities, competitions were followed by sessions where women’s industry leaders gave their ideas about the world of technology and business. They highlighted how women have led various initiatives with digital innovations that make their challenges a little easier.
When heading to one of those session in Karachi, Hira Khalil, the main leader of electronic commerce in Dawlance, said the electronic commerce industry was booming in Pakistan and women could gain more of it. “
Similarly, Sohail Zindani, author and businessman who founded his company Sohail Zindani, urged women to lead digital interruption in Pakistan.
Javeria Siddiqui, Financial Director (CFO) in Feroze1888 Mills Limited, advised women to aim to have multiple income currents.
Taking up all day of WTQ, Sarah Peracha, Executive Director (CEO) of Peracha Ventures and futuristic Vally Founder, gave a motivating impulse to those who could not ensure a winning position: “Maybe some wanted to win today’s competition , but they are all winners in him.
“You are all winners, who worked so hard every day after registering in this competition.”
The contest had six winners of each city, divided into three categories: test, design and coding. Each category had a winner of the students and professionals sections.
De Karachi, Umme Shara won the design category for students, while Muntaha Memon won the prize on the professional side.
Memon told him Dawn.com that his test involved building an online board for a school system. “It was very basic in terms of design,” he said humbly the contest he won.
In the test software category, Rabeeha Ali was victorious in the Student section, while Nida Ramzan won the professional contest.
Ramzan told him Dawn.com Knowledge of the database and error verification were among the various skills proven in the competition. “The most challenging is the healing of proof cases, for which you have to perform some shower tasks,” he added.
In the coding, Noori Shaukat pocketed the Karachi winning students, while Maryam Nasir was the winner in the professional section. The six winners in Karachi received a check worth RS25,000, as well as a coupon of RS5,000 by one of the sponsors.
Electronic commerce: “You can manage a business from your bed”
The conference after the answer began with a key note of the senior director of 10pearls, Anne Brategirdle.
In his speech later, Dawlance’s electronic commerce leader, Khalil, said: “The electronic commerce industry is booming in Pakistan and women can win the maximum.”
When stating that the figures for male digital users were often high, he said that a possible reason for that could be that many women, who did not have well versions well versed with the use of the Internet or had other online security concerns, used the accounts of its nearby male relative online. shopping.
He stressed that the industry received a great momentum after the Covid-19 pandemic, which had many people confined in their homes. “Electronic commerce has made it so easier that you can even manage a business from your bed.”
Asking the women’s audience about the numerous challenges they faced, two participants enumerated the stereotypes and the lack of time available as some of those.
Responding to a audience member, Khalil said that the advice are often awarded to business women so as not to venture into marketing and sales now was not valid since people no longer needed to market a product visiting stores physically.
With Dawlance’s efforts to close the gender gap in employment, he said: “We have women like almost 45 percent of the workforce in the [e-commerce] department.”
‘Women should lead as women’
While the WTQ is exclusively for women, and all speakers, except one, were also female leaders of the industry, Zindani stood out as the stranger, which he recognized at the beginning of his hard session.
Zindani, who founded his own training firm, was talking with the participants during a session entitled “Leadership ready for the future: why women should be pioneers in technological interruption.”
“I don’t know where this [concept] They came that women have to win as men. […] At least have a better reference point, ”he joked, causing laughter of the audience.
By explaining their line of thought, Zindani said: “Women should succeed as women, not as men. We need to eliminate this idea of men and women and bring the idea of male and female.
“There is a love for facts, ideas and structure, and there is a love for design, compassion and love,” he added, describing the world’s opinions of male and female professions.
“The human potential is not masculine or female; They are both. “
Zindani also said that conversations for women’s rights had spread so much in recent years that the essence of that potential was lost.
Speaking about empathy, he said it was not the same as the widely known language “to put yourself in the place of another person.”
Then he recalled an anecdote of a conversation about the differences in the challenges facing working men and women. “I asked ‘have you ever followed your office? [men’s] eyes?’.”
‘500 psychologists in all Pakistan’
Another speaker at the WTQ was Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, co -founder and executive director of the Startup of Telesalud Sehat Kahani, who recalled several achievements insured by her initiative.
Dr. Khurram highlighted how Sehat Kahani played a vital role in the treatment of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, remembering the launch of its application in April 2019. He said that four million people had used the health service until today, What qualifies it with a great achievement.
During his direction, he also noticed the lack of mental health services available in Pakistan. Dr. Khurram said that throughout the country, which includes more than 240 million people, only 500 psychologists and psychiatrists were present.
A 2019 study cites a 2009 report from the World Health Organization, which says that 342 psychiatrists and 478 psychologists were available in the country at that time.
“We (Sehat Kahani) have fixed the cost of each consultation at RS200,” added Dr. Khurram, emphasizing the importance of mental well -being for pregnant women and their children’s health.
Speaking more about making medical care accessible to low -income class, he said the Akhuwat Foundation had made several efforts in that regard.
On the basis of the achievements of Sehat Kahani until now, he highlighted a planned timeline for the possible releases of the organization in Saudi Arabia and other countries. “There are 3.5 million people in the world who do not have access to medical care,” said Dr. Khurram.
Financial habits to build for professional growth
Siddiqui, the CEO of Feroze1888 Mills, stressed that personal health and finance were the two aspects of the life of one on which a person should build their habits.
She declared that to ensure long -term professional growth, women needed to be aware of their expenses and patience to climb the ladder.
By stating that excessive spending was not always the problem, Siddiqui said: “The Cardinal’s rule says you have to spend less than you earn, which is difficult in Pakistan.”
By advising women about savings, the CEO of Feroze1888 Mills suggested to set aside 20 percent of their salaries as soon as they receive it for personal use.
Underlining the need to be patient, Siddiqui acknowledged that employees were often not paid high, around RS40,000 to RS50,000, at the beginning of their careers.
However, at the same time, he emphasized the importance of having a “long -term view”, adding: “You have to live below your salary.”
He urged working women to monitor their profits and expenses while avoiding the need to waste purchases sales. “Hona Boht Zaroori Hai Budget [Having a budget is very important]. “
Siddiqui also encouraged young women, as well as men, to invest in themselves. Hitting a sensitive fiber with the people who do work, he acknowledged that it was difficult to find time for oneself during daily work.
“There was a time when we used to prosper. Now it is [only] survival.”
Emphasizing the need to have multiple sources of different income and investments, the CEO of Feroze1888 Mills said: “It is always possible that we all have a second current.”
The competition finally concluded with participants, speakers and organizers who posed for a group photo to print this year’s WTQ in their memories.
