L-R  Panelists- Harriet Ratemo, Shalon Ngigi and Doris Ratego discussing the state of gender representation in technology amongst millennials and Gen Z

On 22nd March 2023, the Daystar Information Technology Association (DITA) hosted a special event dubbed DITA LIT (Daystar Information Technology Association-- Ladies in Technology) at Main Campus Athi River to celebrate International Women's Day-2023.

The theme for this year’s event was "The State of Gender Representation in Technology Amongst Millennials and Gen Zs."

The event which took place at the Amphitheatre from 2:00pm to 5:00pm was attended by Applied Computer Science students both ladies and men. The Head of Department Applied Computer Science Ms. Zipporah Mwololo and Lecturer, Ms. Harriet Ratemo were present to welcome the guests.

The forum took the form of panel discussion. In the panel was Doris Ratego, an Automation Engineer and Technical Product owner at Safaricom, and Shalon Ngigi, a Software Engineer at Microsoft. Also, in the panel was Harriet Ratemo, Lecturer in the Department of Applied Computer Science and Mr. Newton Mutugi-DITA President.

Ms. Zipporah Mwololo revealed that DITA LIT was started to create opportunities for Daystar students to interact with ladies in technology in the market place, and for the University to interact with the new trends in the market.

Madam Ratemo observed that ladies lack mentorship especially from fellow women and appreciated Doris and Shalon for agreeing to mentor the Daystar students.

According to Doris, the industry should make environment more conducive for the women to work, given the many responsibilities they carry including being home makers and career women. She stressed on the need for boldness in the marketplace saying that courage will dictate how much one is paid. “Be confident, vocal and ask,” she advised.

Being a man-dominated career, Shalon revealed that she had to be aggressive in every aspect to be where she is, today. Shalon also underscored the need for mentorship, saying that mentorship is key for ladies who want to venture into technology. She thus advised the students to identify a mentor, in the industry and peer mentor with whom they can walk the journey.

 DITA President Mr. Mutugi urged that as the society focuses on the girl-child, they should also encourage the boy child in technology.