International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the many achievements of women. The day is also an occasion to call for actions to realize gender parity. This year, Techfugees launched the recruitment of its third edition of #TF4Women Fellowship Programme that is designated strictly for refugee women.
Displaced women have the added plight of sexual and gender-based violence and every other predicament any other woman goes through in any given society. Not to mention victimisation, stigmatisation and discrimination. These three words could be described to demonstrate the plight of displaced persons during their displacement and on arrival in a new country. These work as a barrier for them to integrate properly. These are further amplified in the case of displaced women as they seek to re-establish their lives in a new cultural setting while attempting to continually adjust, battling about expectations, values, feelings and self-identity.
Refugee women face specific challenges and risks that include psychosocial stress, family separation, health complications as well as risks of exploitation. Women also often are the main caretakers for children and elderly family members, which deepens their need for protection and support. They are frequently faced with a duality of cultures and must function with norms and expectations that often conflict.
Access to livelihood opportunities that increase their economic independence and empower their meaningful and equal participation in society is one way to address these challenges and risks. Their social and professional inclusion can contribute to women’s participation as well as promote social cohesion, community to come together, and contribute to ensuring their dignity.
Considering these plights, Techfugees chose to accelerate the professional inclusion of refugee women for them to be economically independent, through the #TF4Women Fellowship Programme.
The benefit of the programme is multifold. The first objective remains to provide training to the fellows and ensuring they have a job upon completion of the programme. Secondly, the programme also contributes to closing the gender gap, especially in the tech industry. Companies with diverse teams that include more women tend to be more creative, innovative and ultimately more profitable. Thirdly, the programme is a platform that provides french tech companies with readily available candidates that reduce the effort of searching skilled workers. Most of all, the programme, as demonstrated in the impact report, boosts the fellows’ confidence, enhances their knowledge and provides them with a community structure.
The completely free programme was launched on 6th of March a few days ahead of International Women’s day to attract more women refugee talents.
The programme is open to any refugee women that are over 18, who have at least B1 level in French and either has experience in one of the following areas:
- Web development;
- Digital project management and
- Communication and digital marketing.
Application processes are open until the 10th of April. The programme will start with the onboarding of the fellows on the 6th of May in Paris with weekly sessions thereafter.
Techfugees are also looking for mentors, french-speaking partners and volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the programme.
For further information regarding the programme, please contact Mas mas@techfugees.com // fellowshipfrance@techfugees.com
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