On 5th to 6th November 2019 Energy Private Developer (EPD) Organised 3rd Edition of “Renewable Energy for Sustainable Growth, (RE4SG)”, at Kigali Convention Centre.
PASIKA Peace For Glee, HOBUKA Ltd’s Managing Director, was a member of WIRE: (Women in Rwandan Energy) discussion panel addressing “Gender gap in Rwanda‘s energy sector and where interventions are needed most”;
She adviced female university students interested in pursuing a career in the energy sector,
Female studying in universities interested in energy sector, to “Go for it”, linking their subjects with real issues (jobs) society needs. Go for fields of engineering that looks tough with the aim of reaching amazing opportunities in energy sector and be confident.
Learn as much as they can; subjects matter intimately, you become a great asset - regardless of your gender.
Connect. They should not just be limited to talking to people in tech. Talking and networking and sharing ideas with people will give them amazing opportunities, which leads to their dreams.
Be open to opportunity. They have to know 'what they’re going to do forever'. Be open to things outside their comfort zone.
Find a support group of women in similar situations. It is so incredibly helpful to have a group of people with whom they can share your experiences and hear "oh yeah, me too," or "I went through the same thing." Because of the gender ratio in tech, you may find yourself the only female in a class or meeting or near your space at work, and the support that comes from finding others in similar situations helps with that isolation.
Focus on what they love doing: There's probably a reason you got into tech. Maybe you loved coding or design, or the transformative potential of the industry, or the proactive "let's solve hard problems" mentality. Focus on that, and don't focus on the detractors/the prestige/the other stuff. Try and put yourself in a situation where you are able to do that all the time.
Find a team or company that values diversity: Seriously, ask them straight up in an interview what their perspectives on diversity are. Get to the point where you feel confident that the team, even if it isn't diverse today, really does value you and will listen when you raise issues.
Only compare yourself to you: compare yourself to you last week, or last month, or last year. If you are learning and getting better, celebrate.