Ghana: Regina Honu, IT pioneer
Regina Honu and students at Soronko Academy, March 5, 2021 © Vincent Pailhé / RFI
Text by: Marine Jeannin Follow
3 min
In Ghana, Regina Honu is fighting to give a place to women in IT.
Founder of the educational movement Tech Needs Girls Ghana, she created Soronko Academy, a computer school that trains thousands of young women for free.
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From our correspondent in Accra,
Regina Honu is 38, with long pink braids and an impressive resume.
Before becoming a social entrepreneur and school principal, she was one of the few computer scientists in Ghana.
She tells about the first difficult years, in a still very masculine field.
“
I worked in two international banks.
I was the only woman in the IT department.
I suffered discrimination, sexism, stereotypes… I was always asked if I was the secretary.
Whenever a supposedly feminine task arose, like making coffee or tea, everyone would look at me.
I had to impose myself.
I was constantly tested, I had to prove my worth.
I had to work twice as hard as the men.
"
It is to fight against this discrimination that Regina Honu opened in 2017 the first academy in Ghana dedicated to learning the code for women: the Soronko Academy, in Accra.
“
We needed a space where we could create a program, frame progress, but also fight for the girls and women we train.
We started with 50 students.
Today, we have trained nearly 16,000. We never stop helping our alumni.
If you come to our academy, you are with us for life.
Because we know that in order for a woman to reach the finish line, in a patriarchal society like ours, she will always need support.
"
And the method has been proven: more than 90% of graduates find a job or start their business after leaving the academy.
The latter also provides free courses for deaf, visually impaired and autistic children - to fight, says Regina Honu, "
all forms of marginalization
".
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