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By supporting nonprofits that provide sustainable access to technology-enabled education, IT companies can drive innovation and create a brighter future for all. Organizations like Czechitas leverage education to empower women in tech, fostering innovation within companies. Today, Czechitas stands as the largest IT community in Czechia, committed to enhancing digital skills and advancing women in technology nationwide.
In this episode, experts discuss how large enterprises can collaborate with nonprofits to bridge the technology gap for underrepresented communities.
Featured experts
- Senta Čermáková, Governing Board Member and Director of International Operations, Czechitas
- Monoswita Saha, Director, Social Impact, Kyndryl
Conversation highlights
Please note the transcript has been modified for clarity and length.
Tom Rourke (Host): Senta, I'm fascinated by your journey with Czechitas and how your career led you here. Could you tell me more about Czechitas and its mission in the Czech Republic?
Senta Čermáková: Czechitas has an amazing story. This organization, which was founded 11 years ago, aims to bring more women and girls into tech roles. In the Czech Republic, only 9% of IT experts are women, making it one of the lowest representation countries. Czechitas and Kyndryl are collaborating to open new opportunities in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, areas in high demand. Together, they can significantly increase female representation in these critical domains. (Hear the full response 02:38)
Tom Rourke: Monoswita, are we seeing similar initiatives in our work globally? If not, how can we help seed these programs in other countries?
Monoswita Saha: We are seeing more initiatives focused on women's education, training, and placement, especially through the Kyndryl Foundation, where nearly 50% of our partners focus on these areas. For example, Cyber Rakshak in India aims to train 100,000 rural women in cybersecurity, not necessarily for careers but to protect their businesses and be cyber ambassadors. This awareness and training have significant socio-economic value. We need diverse training opportunities beyond traditional degrees, which aren't accessible to everyone, so we're investing in those types of pathways through the Kyndryl Foundation. That’s personally what I'd love to see grow more and more because I think that's really what's needed. (Hear the full response 14:42)
Tom Rourke: If we were to have this conversation again three years from now, or five years from now, what's the progress you would like to see as having made in that time?
Senta Čermáková: I want to see Czechitas talent in more decision-making roles. We started 11 years ago with the ambition to bring many girls and women into IT, and now we aim to place the right talent in key decision-making roles. To see a change in the market, we now need support from the Czech government to achieve a greater impact. Building these bridges, like the one we’re building with Monoswita and the Kyndryl Foundation, helps us bring more and more fantastic Czechitas talent into decision-making positions, and Kyndryl is the trendsetter who enabled this change. (Hear the full response 19:34)
Monoswita Saha: Progress to me is that one day we look around the table and we don't need to ask who's missing. Everyone is there in the sense we already have a rich and varied array of experiences and backgrounds at the table. To achieve this in the next 3-5 years, we should rely less on traditional degrees and more on accessible skilling pathways, training, and micro-credentialing. So, if we can shift our mindset and really consider these various forms of skills, perspectives, and backgrounds, we can start to expand those talent pools and integrate these individuals into the field. This mental shift will also have a lot of ripple effects into how we offer training within companies, withing organizations, and simply the profile of candidates that we consider. (Hear the full response 20:41)
