Misfits? No, trailblazers.
Back in early 2019, I asked a group of women in Namibia what holds back female entrepreneurs in technology. Lack of confidence, they said, and self-limiting beliefs. And it’s no wonder - the lack of female representation in technology can make any woman in the space think that they don’t belong. Self-limiting beliefs, while common, feel especially prevalent in countries in southern Africa, where traditional gender roles and cultural norms persist.
Ordinary women, extraordinary resilience
Yesterday I attended an event at the Southbank Centre during which Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton discussed their newly released book, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favourite Stories of Courage and Resilience, interviewed by Mary Beard. My interest in the book piqued since I had recently worked on a project where we at SAIS Programme together with Hivos Southern Africa aimed to understand the female experience in technology entrepreneurship in Southern Africa. I was curious to learn who the 100 women Rodham Clinton and Clinton had selected for their work were and if any African women had made the cut – but to be honest I was looking for some personal inspiration, too.