Level-up Girls.

We are committed to dismissing gender stereotypes, smoothing transition from school to college and work, plus enhancing girls leadership and participation in various fields of study mainly, ICTs.

Our solution will embed the ARTEtm model by Africa Leadership Legacy founder, Ms.Mung’omba.

ARTE =Awareness, Responsibility, Transformation and Energy.

• Awareness: of their capabilities and potential to thrive in Tech-based subjects/fields.
• Responsibility: for their actions which include making a commitment to improve their performance especially in tech subjects.
• Transformation: change of girls’ attitude to being more open minded about their capabilities in STEM related subjects and careers.
• Energy types that exist in their spaces and how to take responsibility for each one of them.

Leveling up girls in technology enhances their chances of contributing to development. It will improve women's standard of living and their families as careers in tech are well rewarding and more girls will have the opportunity to pursue them.

According to the World Bank, only 7% of women choose to study engineering, manufacturing and construction, compared to 22% of men. Of the students pursuing careers in ICT fields, 28% are women and 72% are men and this can be partly attributed to the environment girls/women are raised in with gender divides and biases.

According to the 2012 Labour Force Survey, illiteracy is more common among women than men in Zambia and similarly, cultural norms and gender stereotypes play a major role in this.

Gender stereotypes can be impediments to women’s career advancement, promoting both gender bias in employment decisions and women’s self-limiting behavior (Heilman, 1983).

Consequently, in wage employment, women are concentrated in the lowest paying sectors and non-technical jobs due to their limited skills/expertise. Also, the share of women’s participation in the informal sector is generally greater than that of men due to limited opportunities and early exposure to tech.

Girls' education in tech subjects is not as effective due to limited contact time with teachers, lack of Computers and confidence in oneself.

To change this narrative, we believe in early mentorship, coaching and exposure to ICT studies and the use of tech devices for girls.

Level-up Girls Computer Literacy will introduce girls to basic ICT devices (Tablets) and computer lessons to train them on the use of the internet and applications for school or work. Zambia has been experiencing power shortages and Tablets can be easily charged with power banks, thus making the project more workable for the targeted areas.

Girls will have hands-on experience with the use of Tablets for research, increasing their computer literacy for a smooth transition from school to college and eventually work environments.

Our team will also provide leadership coaching for girls to enable them achieve their highest potential in their prospective career or profession and impact their environment positively and exponentially.

The coaching will also help reduce the barriers(stereotypes) to quality education in STEM faced by girls at home and school.

School girls between the ages of 10-15 and 16-20, in Peri urban and rural Zambia (such as Kafue, Chongwe and Mumbwa), who have no access to ICTs and little or no motivation to pursue STEM related subjects or careers.

Africa Leadership Legacy undertakes research and also uses experiential learning of its team members to understand the needs of the target group. ALL offers life and leadership coaching to girls and young women in Zambia to enhance their personal development.

Level up Girls in technology will enable girls and young women to stay relevant in a dynamic world shifting more towards a digital age. It will level the field for school girls and young women who have little or no access to technology devices or lessons to have access to opportunities in tech fields at university or work.

The solution will enable girls to:

• Transition and adapt well to the working environment from school.
• Do away with limiting beliefs and become more open minded to pursuing studies of their choice whether in technology or social sciences.
• Increase their Computer literacy..
• Become equipped with leadership skills to enable them to impact their spaces positively and exponentially.

In Zambia, the knowledge gap between girls in low cost(peri-urban) and pupils in high cost(urban) areas is exacerbated by power deficit, lack of internet connection, Computers, and gender stereotypes.

They are separated from primary school to pursue social subjects while boys are advised to go for STEM. Thus, girls are left behind.

Furthermore, the Teacher-pupil ratio in schools is imbalanced such that contact time with Teachers is minimal, hence the need for technology to enhance girls' learning and access to updated information.

Coaching is necessary to shift girls’ mindsets from negative societal influences towards reaching their true potential.

Our solution will not only focus on training the girls on basic ICT skills, we are bringing in leadership coaching for the girls. We believe the girls need to be coached in order for them to be confident to go for subjects or programs that society has deemed hard for girls. The leadership coaching will help the girls have a different perspective on choosing STEM subjects and picking careers in this field.

Currently, our program has not yet been rolled out as it is at concept stage awaiting funding. 

In one year, we plan to serve 600 girls. Zambian school calendar is 12 months divided into trimesters, each trimester we will train 200 girls. In 12 months we will have trained 600 girls.

In 5 years, we are looking at training 3000 girls  in  basic ICT and Leadership coaching.

Within the first year, our main goal is to train girls in basic ICT skills.

 Within the next five years, our goal will be to change the perception of our trained girls that STEM subjects are for boys only.

Finally, our project aims to build a network of girls that will have a positive perception about STEM and impact their spaces positively and exponetially.

shift the mindset of girls from limiting beliefs that STEM is for boys to being open minded.

Currently, our biggest barrier is funding. We have our solution ready but only lack funding for it to be accomplished. 

In the next five years, we might encounter some minor cultural differences when we move our project to deep rural areas. Some families in rural areas still believe in supporting boy's education over the girl child.

Full time = 6

Part time =1

Contractor + 1

We have a team of experienced international accredited coaches and trainers with a background in cultural change, mentor-ship, facilitation and empowerment programs for women and girls.

The team is well positioned to deliver the Level up Girls project to the girls and solve the problem. We have experience working with girls and our mission is to enable girls to lead (by providing them with leadership tools, coaching and opportunities for growth).