Takealot today announced its partnership with leading tech NPO GirlCode helping to empower millions of South African women in the world of tech.
GirlCode was born out of a recognition of an inherent gender bias in the tech sector with only 23% of tech jobs in South Africa held by women. In addition, South Africa is facing a dire unemployment crisis, affecting young people in particular. GirlCode provides a solution to these problems by introducing girls and women to Tech from an early age, supporting them to upskill in coding and design.
As part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion, Takealot.com – together with other tech pioneers – is sponsoring the all-women hackathon in celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March), with the theme: ‘Break the Bias’.
The hackathon is designed to spark, renew and elevate interest in coding amongst young women. The #GirlCodeHack provides young aspiring software developers with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face using technology.
Nomaxabiso Teyise, Takealot Group’s Head of Diversity, Transformation & Inclusion says: “Uncovering and unleashing extraordinary minds is how we at Takealot have built an innovative and pioneering organisation. Supporting the hackathon and the extraordinary women who will be participating is a ‘no-brainer’ for us as we are building a business that every South African can feel part of.
Women are the rock of our nation and we want to break every barrier that prevents them from gaining access to every opportunity that is on offer, specifically in areas like software development where there is still not enough women participating.”
For more information about GirlCode, visit their website To make any contribution toward the organisation and its initiatives, please contact Zandile Mkwanazi, CEO via email at [email protected].
