News sponsored by the Samsung Galaxy S22 series:

GirlCode has joined forces with AWS, Mint Group, TakeALot, DVT and Lenovo to host an all-female hackathon in celebration of International Women’s Day under the theme: ‘Break the Bias’.

The hackathon is designed to spark, renew and elevate an interest in coding amongst young women. The #GirlCodeHack provides young aspiring software developers with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face using technology with the objective being to promote innovative out-of-the-box thinking in young minds, especially women.

The GirlCode Hackathon will be hosted at 22onSloane, who are the venue sponsors. The participants will be required to form teams of 2 to max 4 individuals. Unconscious Biases can create unfair Disadvantages for women, the hackathon participants will be asked to come up with solutions based on common Biases when it comes to women in the workplace. On the second day, all teams taking part in the hackathon will pitch their ideas to the judges and the winning concept will be chosen.

Nomaxabiso Teyise, Takealot Group’s head of diversity, transformation & inclusion says: “Uncovering and unleashing extraordinary minds is how we at Takealot have built an innovative and pioneering organisation. Supporting the hackathon and the extraordinary women who will be participating is a ‘no-brainer’ for us as we are building a business that every South African can feel part of. Women are the rock of our nation and we want to break every barrier that prevents them from gaining access to every opportunity that is on offer, specifically in areas like software development where there is still not enough women participating.”

International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality. This years’ call to action is to “Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.”

Thibault Dousson, Lenovo South Africa’s general manager, has expressed his excitement that Lenovo has sponsored prizes worth R60 000 and has been afforded the opportunity to play a role in this year’s event. “GirlCode has always been an important Lenovo partner, in my eyes, and we’re pleased to be playing a vital role again, as an official partner and sponsor in what is probably the most important developer event of the year – we believe we can #breakthebias if we all work together with focus.

“Our partnership with GirlCode forms part of our brand mantra of delivering smarter technology for all regardless of where they are or who they are. The Lenovo Foundation has partnered with many organisations supporting disenfranchised communities across the globe and we are glad to be partnering with GirlCode for an amazing cause.”

“Now more than ever, a generation of engaged, passionate and creative young women are speaking up for themselves and taking their rightful place as innovators in the technology space. There are still many Biases young women still have to face, especially in the work environment and this is a great platform for them to create solutions that address some of these Biases,” says Zandile Mkwanazi, GirlCode CEO.

“We are excited to use this hackathon to celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. We want to showcase what these amazing GirlCoders have to offer the world and are quite excited to see the solutions coming out of the 24 hour hackathon,” concludes Mkwanazi.