Taiwan’s economic growth over the last few decades is largely down to the country’s thriving tech and cyber industry. Those are industries that are still heavily dominated by men. But a new technology ministry event hopes to change that.
“Girls do humanities, boys do science”. That’s the outdated stereotype Taiwan’s technology ministry is challenging with a new event on Wednesday. The 2021 Girls in CyberSecurity hackathon hopes to get female students interested in a career in cybersecurity.
Technology Minister Wu Tsung-tsong says this is just the start. He says the event is really just to get the ball rolling on greater female representation in the industry. He’s sure that once students learn more, they’ll be hooked.
Although prominent women in tech like digital minister Audrey Tang have shown girls a career in cybersecurity is possible, there’s still a long way to go. Boys still dominate cyber events like this. That’s why this one is just for girls.
Technology ministry official Chen Kuo-liang says it’s a problem of opportunity. He says there are plenty of girls with the necessary talent. The problem is they receive less support and have fewer opportunities to develop their skills. This event aims to fix that.
The ministry says that the hackathon will include an ‘information security challenge’ and ‘creative thinking competition’. Attendees will be split into two groups: one for high school students and one for university students.
One student from Songshan High School isn’t at all daunted by the event. She says that they feel like they can take it slow. The younger generation is already so familiar with the internet that she thinks it’s only a matter of time before girls in tech are a common sight.
The technology ministry says the event is taking place in the southern city of Tainan. That’s meant to address Taiwan’s north-south divide in terms of development.
With self-driving cars and smart homes taking center stage in the tech world, there’s no better time for girls to get involved.