Connected Women is an award-winning social impact startup with a mission to empower women with skills and opportunities that drive the growth of the digital economy.

To facilitate this goal, Connected Women has come up with ELEVATE, a blended-learning course that eases women from low-income and COVID-19-displaced groups into the world of remote work. Launched in partnership with UN Women at the height of the pandemic, ELEVATE AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation), is its flagship program that emphasizes digital skills for the artificial intelligence industry. It has trained over 280 scholars for the pilot program so far and has plans of training over a thousand women through a partnership-powered approach.

On July 18, Connected Women celebrated the graduation of AIDA’s seventh batch. Twenty-seven women of different ages and backgrounds completed a five-day workshop that not only introduced them to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning but also covered essential technology skills and tips for being an effective remote worker.

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), through its Center for Women’s Economic Empowerment (CWEE), headquartered in Washington DC, is supporting the Elevate AIDA program and its recent batch. The program will be also supported by the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (WomenBizPH) which will provide soft skills upskilling to the graduates.

A wider door of opportunity

Through Facebook’s social learning feature, trainees learned how to navigate Google Workspace and Zoom. They were also taught the intricacies of remote work as well as how to use Connected Women’s data-labeling app. During the first level of their training, the course introduced participants how to measure their effectiveness for the next phase, the more practical on-the-job training.

Student and fellow graduate Rhuvie Picardal expressed her gratitude at the opportunity afforded by such training: “This is my first real job and in just five days, I’ve learned a lot, from technical skills to working with other people even when they’re miles apart,” she shares. “It’s very timely. The pandemic has affected so many Filipinos. So many people went bankrupt or lost their jobs. So many doors closed, but some stayed open.”

“The flexibility of accomplishing the training was surprisingly easy and the modules that were posted were self-explanatory,” says AIDA Batch 7 alumna Mai Nicolas.

Connected Women CEO and Co-Founder Gina Romero lauded the participants for their bravery in entering an uncharted field that changes every day. “The learning never stops,” she says. “You’re constantly learning on the job. You really have to be willing to adapt. On some days, you’re going to turn up and won’t know what to do. You just have to figure it out.”

Regardless of the information that was learned during the workshop, Romero counsels that stretching yourself outside your comfort zone is the most essential skill anyone can have.

Inclusive democracy

In line with Connected Women’s endeavors to provide access for women, CIPE Program Officer Srujana Huerter says that any COVID-19 recovery effort needs to include women to be successful and capable of mitigating the pandemic’s economic and social losses. 

While the digital economy does open more doors, Huerter adds, however, that women still lack the means to fully take advantage of this opportunity. With initiatives like ELEVATE AIDA, women inch toward closing the digital gender gap.

In her rousing speech, Huerter says, “Equal participation by women in the economy strengthens both free markets and democracy.”

CIPE’s push for gender equality in emerging markets falls in line with its aim to build an inclusive thriving economy that delivers for all citizens. “Programs such as ELEVATE AIDA contribute to strengthening the democracy landscape as they enable homegrown, business-led solutions to COVID-19 recovery efforts focused on women’s participation in the digital economy,” says CIPE Philippines Country Director Ryan Patrick Evangelista.

“The ELEVATE AIDA program is a prime example of applying technology and digital services to advance inclusion, equity, and access to income-learning opportunities to those whose lives have been affected by the pandemic and the rise of the digital economy,” says Huerter.

Huerter praises the women in the program for being role models in their courage and resilience as well as their demonstration of the importance of having equal opportunity.

Women’s Business Council Philippines President Mylene Abiva talked about the planned upskilling sessions which will include Business Tools Capacity Building Training using Microsoft Office 365, and soft skills topics such as Innovation Mindset, Teamwork Communication, Time Management, and Data Handling Best Practices.

Abiva, who is also president and CEO of award-winning FELTA Multi-Media-Inc, a 55-year-old company known for instructional and school technology, surprised the graduates by offering the top two program participants INTEL Turn YOGA 2-in-1 laptops, shock-proof and water-resistant devices that are not available in retail.

At the dawn of the exponential growth of the Artificial Intelligence industry human talent is still very much at the helm, and Connected Women is determined to make sure that no woman is left behind.