Women in GIS Kenya is an initiative that mentors and builds innovative solutions to africa's most pressing gender issues. As a cofounder and CEO of the initiative, I have been spearheading the use of data to address issues that are faced by minority groups. Our major milestone was the violence week where we created info graphics around GBV across Africa to create awareness and get the attention of policymakers.
Since the government banned FGM in Kenya in 2011, the practice is increasingly being conducted underground. I am currently organizing a hackathon scheduled for March themed Hack4Her as a pre-event to the Women in Data Science East Africa Conference. Participants will be expected to build solutions around the themes, Gender Based Violence, FGM and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. M speaker slot at FOSS4G will be presentation of the 3 best solutions as well as the importance of technically empowering young girls to build solutions that work for them
It is important to acknowledge the efforts made by the government to curb FGM we however must not be complacent in the fight for gender equality for the Kenyan girl and woman!
Yariwo Kitiyo is a leading specialist in GIS in Kenya and an expert in data visualization with over 5 years’ experience in both implementing enterprise solutions and capacity development through training.
She was featured in the 30 under 30 Women in STEM breaking barriers by the Einstein Forum and Mawazo Intitute for her application of Science, Technology and Innovation for socio-economic development. She is the co founder and CEO of Women in GIS Kenya an initiative that supports diversity by making geographic sciences more inclusive by constantly building a vibrant local talent pool that will solve Africa's real life issues through technology.
She believes data is the key to achieving global gender equity and consistently works to make gender data visible through analytics and visualization tools.
Partnerships and Operations Lead at Women in GIS, Kenya.