Standard Bank has launched an initiative aimed at increasing the percentage of women working in the traditionally male-dominated technology field.

The bank’s Geek Girl initiative will focus on young women, aiming to “inspire, educate and equip girls from disadvantaged backgrounds with computing skills”, it said in a statement.

The initiative is in partnership with African Teen Geeks, a non-profit computer science training centre that has access to University of South Africa (Unisa) computer labs across the country.

Standard Bank will sponsor 100 young girls, who will take part in a range of events, including Computer Science Week, Hour of Code, Girl Geeks Women’s Month, Festival of Code and Graduation from Java Coding.

There will be ongoing mentorship and engagement with Standard Bank IT senior executives, it said.

“All this entails exposing young girls to IT opportunities in various industries connected to the project,” the bank added.

Standard Bank group chief information officer Brenda Niehaus said the plan is to extend the Girl Geek initiative over time.

“We have selected 100 girls to sponsor for the first year. Some of the girls were selected during our Computer Science Week in June, and more will be chosen at the Hour of Code event in December, where children from disadvantaged communities will get the opportunity to learn coding at Unisa labs throughout the country,” said Niehaus.

From the 100 girls taking part, 30 to 35 will be selected to be mentored and partnered over a three-year period, she said.

Upon completion of the programme, the girls will participate in the Festival of Code, where they will get access to entrepreneurship skills and knowledge that Niehaus hopes will encourage them to create their own start-ups.