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IT is one of those professions where women are largely underrepresented, and this is on the systemic level and across the majority of countries and regions. Indeed, according to the most recent World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Report, published in 2024, in Kazakhstan, the country of ERG’s origins, only 30% of graduates in information and comms technologies (ICTs) are women. In European countries, such as Luxembourg, where ERG is headquartered, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Ukraine, this number is even lower, at 18-20%. E&Y also assessed that women globally make up just 29% of all STEM workers.
Eurasian Resources Group (“ERG” or “the Group”), a leading diversified natural resources group, held a special Forum for women working in information and comms technologies – IT Аруы (“Miss IT”). A groundbreaking event, another successful project of Business & Technology Services LLP (BTS), a company owned by ERG, was arranged in Astana on the occasion of the International Women's Day and added to global discourse about the gender disparity in the sphere of digitalization.
Mr Shukhrat Ibragimov, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Eurasian Resources Group, said: “At ERG, we give special focus to additional business opportunities offered by female leadership in digital and AI. The share of women among top managers of global technology majors like Apple, Google and Amazon has already reached 25% to 30%, and it’s not a coincidence but a key indicator. In Kazakhstan, both the business community and the country’s government pay close attention to digital transformation. Still, the IT Аруы Forum for women, held by our company to mark the International Women’s Day, is the first such event. As the participants said, thе Forum had shown that women not only perfectly integrate into the IT industry – they give a lead, provide inspiration and enhance processes and cooperation between employees, which, of course, is crucial.”
The Forum featured successful business cases from metals and mining, construction and other sectors. It also showcased the related experience of government agencies in improving the work with communities and the efficiency of contact centers, such as the development of an electronic signature system, the ongoing implementation of AI assistants that help citizens understand legal and administrative issues and the introduction of drones for monitoring construction.
Ms Aliya Nugmanova, Head of corporate systems and data management department at BTS, who moderated the Forum, emphasised that the role of women in IT is becoming more and more important, while supporting each other and sharing experiences is the key to development and success in the technology sector.
The participants of the ERG event represented - among other - such companies and organisations as JSC NITEC, operator of the information and communication infrastructure of the «electronic government» of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Industry and Construction, and TechnoWomen, a professional association and community bringing together women working in technology industries, which is similar to Luxembourg-based international organization Women in Tech or Luxembourg’s Women in Digital Initiatives Asbl, officially founded in 2014 to close the gender gap in the field of ICT.
The Women in Tech Global, the world’s leading organization dedicated to closing the gender gap and empowering women to embrace technology, aims to impact 5 million women and girls in STEM fields by 2030, addressing seven of the UN SDGs, as part of which, in 2024, both Luxembourg and Kazakhstan Chapters focused on skill-building programs and global networking were launched.