Almost every interaction with technology includes data, hence the high demand for individuals with the skills for collecting, storing, managing and analyzing data to aid in data-driven decision making. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of data scientists to meet the ever rising demand for the skills. Although there is a shortage of human resources, there is an even lesser number of women in the field. With less than 20% of data scientists being females, it has become imperative to equip more women with the technical and soft skills required to effectively work in the field. 

The 131 Sunflower Hub, in partnership with the Ghana Tech Lab, Soronko Academy, the Ministry of Communication and the Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works Program have for the last 3 weeks  trained 21 young women between the ages of 18 and 35 in its National Pre-Tech Training. The training, which began on the 21st of November, was to familiarize the participants with the basics of Data Science and analytics and is a prelude to the Base Innovation Program which starts in January.

The Base Innovation Program, which is open to the general public, is focused on training the youth with competent skills and relevant experiences in Data Science in order to start their own businesses or increase their chance of securing a job to promote entrepreneurship.

131 Sunflower Hub is an open collaborative tech space for digital skills training, innovations and growing startups. Since its inception, 131 Sunflower Hub has run Tech-based programs as well as entrepreneurial programs and support all geared towards the creation of highly skilled digital human resources. To aid in bridging  the gender gap in the data science industry, the hub through the Pre-Tech Program would equip the women with skills such as python and power bi to pique their interest in the field as well as prepare them for the Base Innovation Program. 

This Female Pre-Tech Training Program which is the fifth cohort at the national level but the third of the 131 Sunflower Hub, is a unique opportunity to mobilize efforts to narrow the gender gap in the field of Data Science. By investing in equipping more women in Data Science, it serves as an avenue for them to exert their influence to encourage more women to enter the field, paving the way for the next set of female Data Scientists.

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