WomenInTech. "Women can achieve success in IT without falling short of men," — girls from Uzbekistan on their path to success

Sureyya Niyazmatova, city — Tashkent, CEO of Lerna in Uzbekistan, Instagram

About Me

I am the CEO of Lerna in Uzbekistan. Lerna is the exclusive partner of the online educational brands Skillbox, Geekbrains, and Skillfactory in Uzbekistan. We are opening up new opportunities for Uzbeks who wish to receive quality online education.

How I Entered the IT Profession

My path was not easy: from economist to leader in the EdTech sector. I graduated from Tashkent State University of Economics with a degree in "Organization of Small Business and Private Entrepreneurship."

I began my professional career as an economist in the construction industry, but my ambitions stretched further. A few years later, I moved to the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where I worked on establishing international relations. My job involved attracting foreign companies and universities, facilitating the exchange of experience among international healthcare specialists, and organizing events.

During the pandemic, I played a key role in organizing online conferences and training programs for medical workers. I conducted more than 200 events in an online format in 2020. This experience inspired me to change careers and sparked my interest in the field of online education.

To develop in this new field, I contacted Lerna, expressing my desire to work in their team. Two days later, I received an offer to become the Deputy Director, officially immersing myself in the world of EdTech.

I was involved in course localization, becoming the co-producer of the first Skillbox course in the Uzbek language. At the same time, I studied Python programming, which allowed me to master the language and become a full-fledged representative of the IT sphere.

Obstacles for Women in IT

In recent years, women have become less afraid of the IT sphere, which was traditionally considered male-dominated. Despite my own internal doubts, I show everyone that women can achieve success in IT without falling short of men.

Recommendations for Those Just Starting Their Journey

I encourage girls not to be afraid to explore the world of IT, learn programming and foreign languages, support each other, share knowledge, and communicate with like-minded people. I am open to communication and ready to share my experience at any time.

My story is a vivid example of how a woman can achieve success in any field by showing persistence, determination, and openness to new things, and that in IT and EdTech, there are no limits for those who thirst for knowledge and are ready to change the world for the better.

Kristina Vanina, city — Tashkent, project manager, Instagram

About Me

I focus on the development of social startups. Currently, I have two projects that we are working on with different teams.

The first project is Sinov, a VR application that allows schoolchildren, students, and anyone interested to immerse themselves in biology, chemistry, and physics from a practical perspective, even if they do not have access to laboratories, as was the case in our school. I don't remember us conducting experiments — we mostly just took notes. Therefore, we decided to create a solution in virtual reality — a laboratory based on the school curriculum for biology, chemistry, and physics for grades 7-11. With this project, we reached the finals of the Technovation Girls competition and went to Silicon Valley, where we received the Social Impact Award.

The second project is called Tinch. It is an application that checks calls for fraud and warns the user in real time not to respond. Recently, we joined the Swift Launch incubator program. We are negotiating with TBC Bank and Uztelecom.

The most important thing in our work is the focus on social responsibility and the desire to make people's lives easier, rather than the desire to make money.

Last year, after participating in the competition, I became a Student Ambassador. In this role, I helped organize events, conduct webinars and lessons, and mentor teams. Every year, more teams from Uzbekistan participate in this international competition.

These successes were made possible thanks to the efforts of our Chapter Ambassadors, who are responsible for organizing the competition in Uzbekistan. This year, we also achieved excellent results.

How I Entered the IT Profession

My life divided into "before" and "after" when I joined the ICT4Girls project in 2022. At that time, I was not deeply immersed in technology, although I studied it on my own at home. I did not have access to people in Uzbekistan who were doing the same thing. When my mom sent me a link to register for this project, I first said, "Why do I need this? It's probably some nonsense." But then I decided to apply anyway.

I and other girls from Uzbekistan were selected to participate in a three-day camp with mentors in various fields. My field was web design. We were housed in a hotel in the mountains. For me, this was my first experience of public speaking, as I used to be shy. In the last two years, after joining the tech community, I started attending various events, which helped me grow as a person. All of this happened thanks to the people around me.

I noticed that I am drawn to the innovativeness and modernity of people working in IT. This inspired me greatly. At the ICT4Girls project, I met many girls with whom I still keep in touch. Many of them have become leaders in various communities and study at top universities. If it were not for this project, I probably would not have dared to participate so actively in social activities. Perhaps I would have continued working as a freelancer, as before.

I have always been interested in what is inside a computer and how everything works. I was lucky: in my small town, I was one of the few children who had a computer at home. I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn technology from an early age: already at the age of 12, I started finding out what programming languages exist and how everything works.

For the next few years, I worked with foreign bloggers, helping them with video editing. And at the age of 15, I fully transitioned into the IT world.

About Stereotypes

I encountered stereotypes, especially in school. I faced prejudice in math classes, where it was assumed that girls are bad at math and cannot work with numbers, while boys are more successful in this. This always angered me because I have loved math since childhood and derive great pleasure from it. I always wanted to prove that abilities in this subject do not depend on gender. If you like something, you can develop in it, regardless of whether you are a girl or a boy.

I was also irritated by statements that girls play chess worse, cannot handle strategic tasks, and have weak logical thinking.

In IT, no one directly said that I would not get funding or trust because I am a girl. However, I felt hints that my work was not taken seriously, especially considering my age. It was assumed that someone else helped me with projects, and I could not do everything on my own.

When my colleagues from two all-girl teams and I presented projects at events, I often noticed skepticism in the eyes of the jury and investors. They seemed to be just entertained by watching us and did not take us seriously.

I tend to constantly compare myself with others, which I think is common among many girls. On the one hand, this can slow down progress, but on the other hand, it motivates me to try harder. However, on a mental level, this can be difficult, especially when you see that someone younger has already achieved greater results. This often leads to imposter syndrome. I forget about my projects and achievements, losing confidence in myself.

Recommendations for Those Just Starting Their Journey

 
If you work or want to work in IT, look for communities focused on this area, such as Women in Tech.

I am considered a young ambassador of Women in Tech Uzbekistan, and this community has completely changed my life. A year ago, when Anna Ambrazhevich was just thinking about opening Women in Tech in Uzbekistan, she was looking for volunteers. I saw this opportunity and immediately wrote to her, expressing my desire to become part of this initiative. At that time, there were only five of us, and we started working on creating the Uzbek branch of Women in Tech. Six months later, we achieved success, and on March 2, we held our official opening in Uzbekistan. It was a difficult path, as we became the first country in Central Asia to join this community.

We presented our work to the global Women in Tech community, telling in detail about our country, showing that it is an excellent place for the growth and development of the community.

Interaction with like-minded people allows you to stay in this environment, not get bored, and develop together with others. And ahead of us is another important event — the Women in Tech Awards.