Female & Fearless 2024: Digital Skills Workshop

An empowered woman can achieve anything she sets her mind to and being unapologetically yourself—embracing your unique identity—is a vital step toward that empowerment. This was the central theme of the Female & Fearless (F&F) 2024 programme, which aimed to inspire young women to take ownership of their voices, build confidence and develop skills to create positive change in their communities.

On 9 November 2024, the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC) partnered with Goldman Sachs’ Engineering group to host the Digital Skills Workshop, the second part of this year’s F&F programme. This marked the sixth year of collaboration between the two organisations. Female students aged 13 to 15 from Broadrick Secondary School, Edgefield Secondary School, Sengkang Secondary School, Woodgrove Secondary School and Queensway Secondary School participated in the programme, which included both the Confidence Workshop on 2 November at C-Suites @ Paya Lebar Quarter and the Digital Skills Workshop held at Goldman Sachs’ office in Mapletree Anson.

At the Digital Skills Workshop, over 50 students engaged in hands-on experience with Python programming and hardware basics. Working in pairs or small groups, they explored coding concepts at designated stations, learned about Raspberry Pi, and experimented with managing LED lights through code. Throughout these exercises, Goldman Sachs volunteers provided one-on-one guidance, offering support to ease the students into the world of programming.

The workshop also featured insights from experienced female professionals in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Opening remarks were delivered by Aihua Liang, Managing Director, Global head of Liquidity Risk Strats & Head of Risk Engineering Singapore, who shared her inspiring career journey in the finance sector. Throughout the event, students had the chance to network with Goldman Sachs employees, gaining valuable perspectives on career paths in engineering and technology within the finance industry.

The day concluded with a reflective and encouraging closing address by Kim Cheah, Managing Director, Global Head of Client Response Team & Client Event Provisioning and Partner Support Teams, who reminded the students that careers often evolve in unexpected ways and encouraged them to embrace the journey with an open mind.

The workshop left students feeling motivated and inspired, with many expressing appreciations for the chance to connect with new friends, tackle challenges, and develop essential technical skills. They were excited about how these experiences would shape their future education and career journeys. 

Special thanks went to the Goldman Sachs volunteers, whose patience and guidance made the learning experience both approachable and enjoyable.