A bias that software engineering is not a kind of activity for the women still persists. From childhood, girls were channeled to study the humanities, and their interest in the exact sciences was not that much encouraged. Lack of support and cliches about “computer science exclusively for men” scared many talented girls away from choosing professions in IT sector.
This cliche is being broken down gradually. Promoting gender equality and empowering women are intended to crush down the barriers and demonstrate that computer science is accessible to everyone. Uzbekistan is providing girls with increasing opportunities in IT, and the victory of the young Zarnigor Rakhimova at the European Olympiad in Informatics is proof of this.
IT is the language of the future
In today’s world, where technology penetrates all domains of life, IT skills are becoming not just an advantage, but a necessity. Uzbekistan is proactively developing the digital economy and creating conditions to enable younger to master these skills regardless of gender.
At the initiative of the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the country has adopted educational programs focused on teaching children software engineering and robotics; competitions and olympiads in these disciplines are held on regular basis.
This June, the ICT4Girls Olympiad was held in Uzbekistan with 242 participating girls from all across the country. Based on the first stage results, 45 school and lyceum students who best coped with the tasks in C++ or Python coding languages were selected. In the next stage, 12 winners gained the opportunity to undergo a training bootcamp. Their mentors were boys who won the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) last year. As a result of intensive training, four participants were selected to represent Uzbekistan at the European Girls' Olympiad in Informatics in the Netherlands.
Girls rule in EGOI
EGOI is the recently launched coding competition exclusively for girls, following the example of the European Mathematical Olympiad. Participants not only solve complex tasks, develop and implement algorithms, but also meet women who have succeeded in IT. This is important because the majority of coding teachers are men.
The first EGOI took place in 2021 in Zurich, Switzerland. Since then, competitions have been held in different cities of the participating countries. The organizers see the opportunity to provide young women with a chance to demonstrate themselves and boost their interest in computer science as the main goal of the Olympiad.
Uzbekistan’s national team arrived in the Dutch IT town of Eindhoven on 21 July. The Republic was represented by the talented Zarnigor Rakhimova from Bukhara province, Oysha Mirzatillaeva from Tashkent, Malika Khojamuratova from the Republic of Karakalpakstan and Solikha Dagarova from Samarkand province. About 200 representatives from 57 countries took part in this prestigious Olympiad. Based on the results of two rounds, Zarnigor Rakhimova scored 329 points and won a bronze medal.
“I am 18 years old, I have graduated from school No. 12 in Bukhara province. My computer science teacher inspired me to develop myself in the IT field, and, of course, there was great support from my family. Taking part in the international Olympiad, I realized that one should not be under the influence of biases. The idea that coding is not for girls is profoundly wrong.” EGOI bronze medalist Zarnigor Rakhimova.
Support is key
Team leader and chief expert of the Department of Digital Development of the Ministry of Digital Technologies Ms. Asal Babayeva said the Olympiad demonstrated numerous talented girls both globally and in Uzbekistan. The key factor for them is support. It is necessary to show that by investing more effort and working on self-improvement, one can reach any heights, including in IT.
“The trip turned out to be very eventful: games, master classes, competitions and tours. The girls were motivated to compete. The contest was held in two stages in a fair and transparent manner. The hours before the results were announced were nervous, but the final score table pleasantly surprised us. It’s not just Zarnigor, who gained a bronze medal — three of her teammates showed good results,” Asal said.
Such experience will give a significant impetus to the development of the IT industry. The trip was useful not only for the girls, but also for the team leaders and coaches. During the Olympiad, the team was able to get to know better the participants from Turkey, Kazakhstan and Poland, which gained high scores at EGOI. Next year, it is envisaged to invite to the bootcamp the mentors from the countries whose representatives won gold medals at the Olympics.
Upon return from the Netherlands, the representatives of the Ministry of Digital Technologies and the Center for the Development of Digital Education warmly welcomed the team back with blare of trumpets, the way the winners are greeted. All girls came back home with the intention to participate in the Informatics Olympiad again next year and win.
Ucell, one of the largest cellular operator in Uzbekistan, organized the participation of the team in this competition.
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