Botswana's ICT sector's lobby group for citizens, Citizen Owned Businesses in Information (COBIT), has criticised the low participation of women in the sector.

COBIT president Anderson Kgomotso said the number of women in ICT is a concern.

"They (women) are completely underrepresented, especially on the technical front," Kgomotso told local media.

Using his company profile to highlight the plight, Kgomotso said of the 56 technical staff work, 45 are men while only 11 are women - a 24 percent increase from the 25 males and only two women last year.

Kgomotso further cited a recent survey by European based IT organisation, DG Connect which showed that around seven million people work in the ICT sector globally and only 30 percent are women.

The DG connect survey stated that challenges facing women in the sector include inadequate skills and knowledge about how to use ICT in their daily activities and lack of- or limited connectivity to access information disseminated online.

Though Kgomotso has raised concern over the issue, there are instances where women yield positions of influence within the Sector. At 32, Gaongalelwe Mosweu is the vice president of Botswana Information Technology Society (BITS), a non-profit organisation that represents stakeholders in ICT. Mosweu has been with the organisation since 2006.

Mosweu also serves as the current vice chairperson of Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority's (BOCRA) technical advisory committee, which advises on the country's code top-level domain, being bw.

Other female leaders in the sector include Alicia Mokone, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology, as well as Katlego Arnone, MTN Business general manager and coordinator at the Innovation Hub.