Relating my Tech journey with How I Broke the Bias

Hello, my name is Shulammite Joyful John. I am a software engineer and also the Founder of FemCode Africa.

My tech journey almost started mid-2013 when I enrolled in a computer application package training with an ITC training center, soon after the training, I was discouraged and not allowed to join the coding class because I was a female (reasons best known to them).

Fast forward to my 1st year in the university in 2015, I reached out to a coursemate to teach me coding because he was good with web development but he and his friends made fun of me with a statement “ what would a woman that would someday get married and gave birth to a child learn to code for?” They said I should go and learn how to make logos and design flyers, that it’s a waste of time for him. The truth is that I felt really bad and that became my motivation to persist.

What I did

I didn’t give up, I started learning things on my own. I started with Python because Google said it was the best programming language😂. I finally got an internship with a popular tech hub in Abia State, sometime in 2018 at RAD5 Tech Hub and that’s where my coding journey started officially and during my struggle to join tech I made myself a promise that once I got started in tech, I wouldn’t let a female under my watch go through all I went through to start a career in Tech.

On the 3rd of October In 2019, I founded FemCode Africa, a tech company that trains females with coding skills and also helps them get employment. To date, FemCode Africa has trained over 500 females and also helped a lot get jobs and internships.

I stand against women’s discrimination in the tech ecosystem. Happy International women’s day in advance.