In my mother's name, for all women

This pitch about The Bold Collective is definitely a little longer than a normal elevator pitch. But I wanted to share it with my 'big why', as part of my lessons learnt in module 3 on storytelling and communication, and what has spurred me to start this collective. 

For me, my journey begins with having seen my mother's experience (and those before her like her mum), where generation after generation women tend to leave their workplace or not take on jobs in the name of supporting their spouses and families. Their labour is also a labour of love and managing the household while caregiving for kids and other family members is important work (and unpaid labour)! However, there are implications to women being out of the workforce, especially when the choice is not theirs. 

In my mother's case, she left her country, job, and industry. She did later on move into a new industry and role and had to start her career over while studying and equipping herself with the necessary skills and certifications for the role. Looking back, I don't know how she managed to juggle her work, studies, housework, and caring for children (and caring for herself)! I am thankful that both my mum and dad found jobs and industries that they love and have had careers that they are content with.

Addressing these challenges is much needed and will take intentional effort and time.

With technological advancements, greater digital connectivity as a result, and with changing perceptions with COVID, new opportunities have arisen.

1. Greater digital connectivity- Has enabled individuals to more easily connect with opportunities, organisations, and tools digitally.
2. COVID- As a result of the pandemic, there has been a positive shift in attitudes and mindsets on a large scale about working across borders and remote work.

At TBC, we are looking to address the gender gap in employment by starting and focusing on equipping women with skills, resources, and opportunities to get employed remotely and/or to start their digital ventures so that they can pursue financial independence from the comfort of their homes. With this, they would also be able to have greater access to work opportunities while being able to manage their time with caregiving (and not having to travel to a physical workplace, which may be inaccessible for women in certain communities).

Feel free to watch the pitch to learn more about TBC's offerings and to explore possible collaborations.

TechChange is leading the way to bring all frontiers in the digital & technology space together on a single platform to share their innovations, skills, and programmes with others from across the globe. TechChange's Frontiers of Digital Development Forum (FDDF) was a hybrid forum in November 2022 for individuals across the globe in the social impact sector to discuss current innovations and learnings in the digital development space while further demystify the frontiers of digital development and critically examine their applications for international development.

Forum partners included Save the Children, USAID, Palladium, Google, etc.

As a part of FDDF, there were 7 satellite events across continents with this particular session in Kenya, viewable by a global audience. I am humbled by the opportunity and in having been invited as a guest speaker for one of the sessions to share on the theme of how technology can be used as a solution to address community challenges. In particular, I shared more on how technology may be used to enhance education systems and result in job creation for youth, women, people with disabilities, and those from traditionally marginalised communities and groups. I also shared on how TBC seeks to be a platform to address some of these challenges (and put my pitch into practice).