Empowering Women
The Ayitic Goes Global project encouraged the involvement of young Haitian women in technology to promote stronger female participation in the digital economy. Working with 300 women in Port-au-Prince, the goal of this initiative by LACNIC and the IDRC was to strengthen participants’ digital skills and develop strategies that would allow them to access the online job market.
Ayitic offered training courses and exposure to the job market, which resulted in the empowerment of many participants who successfully completed the program. To approach these changes and accompany the participants in this process, introductory workshops on gender issues were offered in partnership with local organization KASIK.
These workshops mainly encouraged the women to reflect on the gender stereotypes present in Haitian society and empowerment as a tool to overcome inequalities:
In the words of Minouche Ulyseee: “...I discovered that many things that I previously considered to be true were merely stereotypes. This workshop helped me understand the difference between gender and sex, and between equity and equality, which led me to understand what it means to be a feminist.”
In turn, Jeruscha Fleurimond added the following: “I used to think that job opportunities could be classified based on gender but during and mainly after the training I understood that I was mistaken and that opportunities are not a matter of girls or boys but a matter of skills.”
Fannéty Guercin explained that the program: “allowed me to become aware of the challenges faced by young women in my country, something I had previously completely ignored.”
Questioning gender-based stereotypes, imagining themselves as women in roles other than those imposed by society, no longer being an object of others but instead taking charge of their own development. These are some of the key takeaways mentioned by Ayitic graduates when referring to the KASIK workshop. Sherline Francis stressed that “After this training, I learned not to limit myself, not to allow myself to be abused and not to suffer any kind of violence from anyone. As a woman, I now know that I must enjoy the same rights as men and that I have a role, a place in society.”
Herdline Casimir focused on “...the importance of women in a society where women are not subject to the will of men but are instead human beings equal to men.”
