Cecile Barayre-El Shami

What brought you to a career in technology at the United Nations?

My background is in international public law and political science, not technology. That means that one can end up in technology from just about anywhere! I have joined as an intern at UNCTAD back in 1997, and since then I have working in research and technical assistance related to ICTs, e-commerce and the digital economy with a view to increasing impact on economic development, including the digital inclusion of girls and women in trade.

What has been your favorite technology project or initiative at the United Nations and why? What was your contribution?

There are no easy answers, all the projects I worked on were exciting, starting from the early days, aiming at facilitating trade using ICTs. Back in 2000s, I was coordinating projects in Africa within the Trade Point Programme to facilitate trade and the exchange of Electronic Trading Opportunities, the first B2B exchanges among enterprises of countries across developing countries through an electronic network. I remember the few female focal points who were pioneering the very exclusive men�s world of technology. Since then, I have developed capacity-building Programmes to establish cyberlaw frameworks and led eTrade readiness diagnostics and e-commerce strategies to assist developing countries and regions in their digital transition. All along, I have met amazing women pioneering and growing their role in technology. What was unimaginable 25 years ago, happens and those women occupy now high-level functions in the digital space, within Government or private sector, or both which is key to make an efficient link between digital policies and entrepreneurship worlds. I have great memories: girls in Egypt assembling a PC, women developing their own business using ICTs, to for example to organize product orders and deliveries using their mobile phone, or getting the price of commodities, innovating constantly to get independence and more time in their busy days of mothers, learning new technologies to invent new opportunities and shape their future.

What advice would you give women interested in pursuing a field in technology?

I have asked two women close to my heart met in Kenya and Mauritania and who occupy high levels posts in their Governments. They agree on three main recommendations: For parents, ensure equal education for girls and boys; For society, banish old stereotypes that will exclude girls and women from technology. For girls interested in the many opportunities offered by technologies, enjoy constant learning to follow the evolving technological innovations ﾖ you will never get bored!