Kim Palmer is focused on building up, empowering, creating opportunities and changing the lives of women of all ages through her work in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector.

It’s a sector where women are grossly under-represented — only 23% of tech jobs are held by women in South Africa. Palmer says that this results in many misperceptions that young women hold about ICT, which she is making an effort to change. She says the solution to promote inclusivity in the local tech sector lies in encouraging and supporting women to pursue careers in it. She believes that young women in the sector should explore and empower themselves.

Technology is growing, and it’s growing at a fast pace, and you shouldn’t be putting any restrictions on yourselves. My advice to young women is to go and grab any sort of technology they find fascinating and take it further, because there is so much out there.

Palmer hosts the annual Women in ICT conference, which drew 600+ women in 2018. Her hard working ethos makes her one of the most influential and upcoming women changing the Stem landscape in South Africa.

“We are created to do so much; I want to see other young women shine and help each other. We should be there for each other, because there is so much to be done and we need each other to make a positive change,” she says.

She says her biggest challenge has been to be heard and listened too. “I choose to do and show the results through my work, and in that way it forces people to listen. My biggest strength has been my faith and my ability to persevere, even when I’m standing alone as a sole shareholder in a fast-growing business. On my toughest days, my faith carries me through,” she said.

Palmer says she loves working with children, and she recently held a robotics and coding holiday programme for kids aged 7-18, in which over Cape Town 100 students participated. “I truly believe people will only go into a career that they are exposed to — that’s where your dreams and your aspirations arise — so for me it’s all about exposing kids to technology. It does not matter what career they go into, they know they need to take technology with them so that they won’t be left behind.”

—Rumana Akoob

Twitter: @kimOTBC