Amman (March 8) – Girls in Tech, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that helps women cultivate ideas and careers around entrepreneurship and technology, launched its Jordan chapter today with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The Jordan chapter will encourage women with degrees in information technology (IT) to engage in private enterprise and it will promote women’s participation in the workforce.  Only 16 percent of Jordanian women were in the workforce in 2013, according to figures released last week by Jordan’s Department of Statistics.

“With a highly educated female population that is eager to secure its fair share in the workforce, Jordan is strategically poised to be a leader and pioneer in the knowledge economy,” said U.S. Ambassador Alice G. Wells at today’s launch, on International Women’s Day, emphasizing the need for an inclusive workforce.

Girls in Tech will strive to create a female IT community in Jordan to enable networking and professional growth for aspiring entrepreneurs and IT professionals.

“An important way to support women in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) sectors is to develop organizations like Girls in Tech,” said Anne Simmons-Benton, the director of the USAID Jordan Competitiveness Program.  “Jordan has a rare competitive advantage due to the number of women who have studied in STEM fields.”

Rania Ghosheh Al-Jaber, managing director of the local Girls in Tech chapter, said Jordan has many talented women in the STEM fields.  “When I was approached to start a Girls in Tech chapter in Jordan, I felt there was a readiness among entrepreneurs and IT students to create a strong community of female IT leaders and be part of a global female IT network,” she said.