When Ire Odega and Faith Oyepeju sat down together one day to discuss life, career, and what they could have done differently in these areas they realised that like most other women, they had similar struggles. For many women, there is often a struggle to balance the monumental expectation to excel both at work and at home. Because of societal pressures, religion, and gender expectations, women give up their careers so they can spend more time caring for children, husbands, homes, and even extended families. The women who stay in the workforce often have to give up career opportunities and/or stay in lower-earning positions so they can continue to balance family and the care work that comes with that—a job overwhelmingly performed by women. Even when women are entering the workforce, research has shown that women will often only apply for jobs when they meet 100% of the requirements, as opposed to men who will apply even if they only meet 60% of the requirements. It’s harder for women to pursue a career and actively participate in the workforce when they have to deal with all these obstacles.
When it comes to tech, the industry is male-dominated and the culture is hugely male-centred. Most founders are male and in most workplaces, men outnumber women by far. Globally, women constitute about 28.8% of workers of the tech workforce, and in Africa, they make up 30% of the continent’s tech professionals. Although these numbers are increasing yearly, the gender gap within the industry is still very wide. Some reports indicate that it may take up to 12 years to reach equal representation of women in tech and over 100 years to reach gender parity between men and women in general. Women still face significant barriers when entering into STEM. They often have to deal with gender bias, lack of representation, and limited access to resources.
After performing a survey to validate the theories about gender representation they had, Oyepeju and Odega created Elenasy—an educational platform tailored specifically to women.
What is Elenasy?
Elenasy is a pioneering learning platform dedicated to equipping women through technical education and career placement opportunities. It is the recognition of the existing gender gap and a commitment to confronting the gender norms and biases impeding equitable opportunities for women. The goal of Elenasy is simple, they want to bridge the gender gap in formal and tech roles, particularly in Africa. The founders of the platform believe in the potential of women to excel in these domains and are committed to helping them by providing the tools and support they need to thrive.
Equipping women through tech
The platform offers career training and courses under different schools including administration and support, software engineering, data science and analytics, and corporate skills and literacy. Under these schools, learners can take courses like frontend and backend engineering, full-stack engineering, data science, or upskill to become Executive Assistants and other types of managers. Learners can gain skills in home care and even brush up their skills with courses designed for learners on maternity leave.
The purpose of this platform is to build a community for women that makes the career journey easier. If women can talk to and be guided by other women who are in the same corporate world as them, they will make fewer career mistakes. Having this safe space and support system greatly improves the chances of women continuing to remain in the workforce and thriving.
Elenasy is dedicated to providing all-round support so their support extends beyond classes and the courses they offer. They help women stay in these classes and the workforce by addressing the challenges that often make women opt out. Oftentimes women are scared of leaving the home in search of further education and careers because they are worried about neglecting their domestic responsibilities. To address this, Elenasy trains graduates to become home managers and outsources these managers to women in their programmes. This helps these women manage their homes and also have all-round support from their community. Both at school, work, and at home they are surrounded by people who understand their struggles and are committed to helping them.
The women in these programmes are also not left on their own post-graduation. Elenasy works towards finding them jobs and career placements post-graduation. They also provide mentors, mental health support, support for female-specific challenges like maternity struggles, and a close community of women to lean on.
Elenasy also extends this support for women to their kids. They host tech bootcamps and other programmes for kids and teenagers during holidays. While mothers learn and work, their kids also learn and remain engaged so their mothers can focus.
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By creating a safe space dedicated exclusively to women, Elenasy is addressing the deficit of women in tech directly and increasing the participation of women in the industry. The opportunities they provide help lower the entry barriers in the corporate world and by doing this they empower women who then go on to inspire other women. If women can see people like them succeed in the corporate world they will be inspired to also enter this world and thrive. Younger women can feel braver to approach the workforce if they know they have a community of female mentors dedicated to their success. At the end of any programme learners enrol in, they will be equipped with the necessary skills to be able to compete in the fast-changing corporate world and also succeed independently.
The platform also partners with sponsors who can pay for courses for women. So if you’re interested in contributing to reducing the gender gap in STEM, you can partner with Elenasy to sponsor the education of one or more women.
2023 Academic Season Kick-off
A new academic season is commencing this October. This is an exciting opportunity for learning and growth. For women struggling to find a career path or kick-start their career after a hiatus, this is a great opportunity.
Interested learners and sponsors can sign up here for the upcoming academic season and join the movement to equip more women through tech.
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