Women changing the face of tech

Community organisations set up by women for women aim to bridge the tech industry gender gap by starting young

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Women make up just a third of professionals in the tech industry, but with the help of community coding groups conducting workshops and "boot camps", their numbers are rising.
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Volunteering at a kids' hackathon at a community centre here six years ago, Dr Ayesha Khanna was given a visceral reminder of a deep-seated bias when it comes to women and tech.

"I was working with kids on a small electric robot and, at some point, the mother of one girl took her daughter away and replaced her with her son, saying he was better suited to the activity," said the co-founder and chief executive of artificial-intelligence (AI) firm Addo AI.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 13, 2019, with the headline Women changing the face of tech. Subscribe