On the occasion of the first edition of #JamaisSansElles Day at Education Nationale on 23 November 2021, our association and the Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, held an event at the Ministry for junior high school students.
Inaugurated by Jean-Michel Blanquer and Tatiana F-Salomon (president of #JamaisSansElles), the goal of the day was to raise the awareness of the students on the issue of gender diversity in industry related professions and digital technologies; to promote equality between boys and girls and to fight against gender bias and stereotypes.
The national day took place during the Ministry of the Economy’s Industry Week, the goal of which is to develop activities in all regional education authorities for junior high and high school students with the aim of furthering the advancement of gender diversity in all sectors and professions.
The morning, which was filled with presentations and discussions with several digital and ed-tech professionals, showed through concrete examples the opportunities for young girls to enter these professions that are recruiting – which are however historically very male-dominated however.
#JamaisSansElles Day is very important today because it is dedicated to the development of gender diversity in the industrial sector. It is organized as part of Industry Week. Gender diversity is essential!
The Ministry of National Education is partnering with the Ministry of the Economy to spread a simple message:
Industry has a bright future for you, whether you are girls or boys. None of you should think “This is not a job for me”. Today we are here with #JamaisSansElles, but it could also be called “It is not ‘not for me’.” It can be for any of you, girl or boy, it doesn’t matter.
Tatiana F.-Salomon, the president of #JamaisSansElles, welcomes the students in turn and conveys her enthusiasm:
Osez ! The future belongs to you. The future is you! The world of tomorrow is the world that you will build. Girls and boys, everything is possible. Dare!
Among the speakers, Philippine Dolbeau, a 22 year old French entrepreneur, who created the company “New School” at the age of 16 while still in high school. School is a place of empowerment for her, especially for young girls. Stereotypes must be fought to prevent limiting the future prospects of us all.
? “L’école est le lieu où les valeurs du passé se transmettent et où l’avenir s’invente. #JamaisSansElles permet d’élever l’ambition des filles, de lutter contre les stéréotypes et d’ouvrir le champ des possibles pour un futur plus juste pour tous” @PDolbeau #SEDI2021 pic.twitter.com/xXWpQAnfIq
— JamaisSansElles (@JamaisSansElles) November 23, 2021
Each presentation was followed by a discussion with the students. The students of Lavoisier Junior High School in Pantin were able to ask all their questions throughout the conference in a joyful and relaxed atmosphere.
Natacha Quester-Séméon, executive director of #JamaisSansElles, and Sacha Quester-Séméon, digital entrepreneur at youARhere, underline the future prospects in the digital industry. They explain the problem of bias in Artificial Intelligence and the issue of gender equality and diversity in teams and companies.
“Les entreprises cherchent des développeurs et des développeuses, il y a des opportunités formidables à saisir pour les filles avec des métiers nouveaux et très bien rémunérés. 85% des emplois de 2030 n’existent pas encore.” @sachaqs #JamaisSansElles #WomenInTech pic.twitter.com/lG1T2wS8n2
— JamaisSansElles (@JamaisSansElles) November 23, 2021
“Les algorithmes ressemblent à ceux qui les créent. Ils sont biaisés parce qu’ils reproduisent les biais (sexistes, racistes…) des développeurs. Nous avons besoin de mixité et de diversité dans le monde du numérique pour que cela change.” @natachaqs #JamaisSansElles #Biais #IA pic.twitter.com/HBBeWXzQq0
— JamaisSansElles (@JamaisSansElles) November 23, 2021
Natacha and Sacha then presented the bot ELLA, the first intelligent agent for gender equality created by #JamaisSansElles with FlintRobot. The bot had to learn to identify content for #JamaisSansElles, initially sorting through more than 20,000 articles. It thus became a positive artificial intelligence entity, the first AI agent in the service of gender equality!
Benoit Raphaël, media strategist and founder of Flint Media, the tech company behind Ella, gave a presentation on bias and its consequences and stressed the importance of media and digital literacy.
“L’intelligence, comme la tech, n’est pas neutre, non seulement elle dépend des biais de ceux qui l’ont programmée, mais elle renforce aussi ceux de notre cerveau. Si l’on ne fait pas attention, elle peut ns enfermer ds nos préjugés” @benoitraphael #IA #SEDI2021 #JamaisSansElles pic.twitter.com/WZXDX9f01p
— JamaisSansElles (@JamaisSansElles) November 23, 2021
The morning ended with an exchange with Michèle Flasaquier, tech entrepreneur and author of the book Illustres Inconnues (Illustrious Unknown Women), which offers 14 portraits of women who were recognized in their time, but unjustly forgotten. The stories of Hedy Lamarr and Katherine Johnson raised many questions.
.@zflasaquier : “Le pouvoir de changer le monde: quand les femmes d’hier nous montrent le chemin pour demain. Il existe de merveilleux rôles modèles #ÉmilieDuChâtelet, #CarolineHerschel, #MargaretBulkley, #HedyLamarr…” #IllustresInconnues #JamaisSansElles #Éducation #WomenInTech pic.twitter.com/E7qpdR2IMA
— JamaisSansElles (@JamaisSansElles) November 23, 2021
Each student received a copy of “Illustres inconnues”, offered by Emilie Daversin and VO2group.
To close the morning the students were given a tour of the Ministry and the Minister’s office. They left with a round of applause in the courtyard of the Ministry.
See you for the second edition in 2022!
#JamaisSansElles would like to thank Claude Roiron, ministerial delegate for gender equality at the Ministry of Education, Richard Senghor, Thibaut Guiheux, teacher at Lavoisier Junior High School, Natacha Quester-Séméon and Sacha Quester-Séméon, as well as the rectors and teachers who are committed to gender equality and who carried out actions on 23 November 2021.
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