Nisreen al-Shareef

Pioneered tech education for marginalized women in the Middle East

Nisreen al-Shareef (b.1980) transformed tech access for Jordanian women by creating the Code for Equality initiative in 2003. Starting with a single computer lab in Amman, her program now trains 15,000+ women annually across 18 Arab countries through partnerships with UN Women. Al-Shareef developed the Women's Tech Academy model that combines coding bootcamps with entrepreneurship support, resulting in 32% of graduates launching tech startups. Her 2011 initiative Digital Daughters provided free online courses in Arabic, reaching 500,000 learners by 2020. Al-Shareef's advocacy led to Jordan's 2016 law mandating tech education in girls' schools, which has increased female STEM enrollment from 12% to 34% nationally. Her 2019 report Gendered Innovation Gaps influenced EU-Arab tech funding policies, securing $120M in grants for women-led startups. Al-Shareef's programs have created 1,200+ tech jobs for women in underserved regions since 2015.