The women members of the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) are a powerhouse group, particularly when seen gathered in one place at the same time!

At the recent IITPSA President’s Awards, some of the IITPSA’s leading women in IT had a rare opportunity to network in person.

Among them were IITPSA President Senele Goba and Vice President Pearl Pasi; IITPSA Past President Ulandi Exner who has officially taken over as the Chair of the Africa ICT Alliance (AfICTA), becoming the organisation’s first female chairperson; and Moira de Roche, IITPSA past President and Fellow, as well as Vice-president of International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and President of IFIP International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3).

Also present were Prof. Lynn Futcher, Chair of the IITPSA Eastern Cape Chapter, SIGCyber Committee member and Professor at the Centre for Research in Information and Cyber Security (CRICS) at Nelson Mandela University; and Josine Overdevest, IITPSA Social & Ethics Committee Chair, winner of the 2023 David O’Leary Award, and newly appointed member of the IFIP IP3 Global Industry Council.

Rounding out the line-up of leading women in IT was the IITPSA’s friend and guest, Joice Benza, President of the Computer Society of Zimbabwe and member of the IFIP IP3 Board.

The IITPSA is focusing its efforts on addressing the gender imbalance in the IT sector, and is stepping up the work of its Women in IT (WIIT) Chapter in line with this. WIIT has called for women in IT to join the chapter and become involved in projects to make a positive impact on girls and women in the IT profession. To learn more and register your interest in joining WIIT, go to https://www.iitpsa.org.za/iitpsa-women-in-it-wiit-confirmation-of-expression-of-interest/