JEDDAH — Ericsson region Middle East and Africa (RMEA) celebrated Girls in ICT day, from the end of April and throughout the month of May, with a set of events and activities at various universities in RMEA, introducing the ICT sector to girls and young women as a viable career choice. The Girls in ICT presentations were given by the women of Ericsson and underlined the importance of diversity in the ICT industry, offering insights on the different jobs within this sector, Ericsson's short and long term vision in the ICT industry, and the fast evolution to the Networked Society Ericsson aims to have “one third” female employees across the organization by year 2020 in recognition of the vital role that women play in today's society in general and ICT in specific. The main aim was to demonstrate that within ICT there is no single leading role or function where the best-performing employees are evaluated based on gender, it is always the best person for the job that prospers. Girls in ICT day is part of an initiative run by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is celebrated annually, during April. The focus of the day is to encourage, educate and empower girls and young women to pursue studies and careers in ICT related industries. Speaking of the Girls in ICT Day initiative across the region and its success, Rafiah Ibrahim, President, Ericsson Region Middle East and East Africa, said “Ericsson believes in diversity across all aspects of our organization. By promoting gender inclusion in ICT we are, not only, improving our business trajectory, but also fostering a positive corporate environment to all our employees. We want to show young women that ICT is a skill-based industry suited to the most skilled employees, in which women can have very prosperous careers.” In 2014 Ericsson RMEA launched a regional Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) council which follows up periodically on the execution on this set strategy. Today Ericsson has a number of talented female leaders in the early stages of their careers, as well as, higher up in various parts of the organization; and the company knows that it must continue to offer them interesting growth opportunities so they will want to stay and develop their careers. — SG
