Equipping refugee women for career success in tech

Sistech

Think Human Foundation

Mission & History

Sistech is dedicated to empowering refugee women in Europe by providing access to sustainable employment opportunities within the tech and digital sectors. Founded in 2017 by French social entrepreneur Joséphine Goube, Sistech emerged as a spinoff from Techfugees, motivated by key insights into the employment challenges faced by refugee women. Despite years in their host countries, these women often experience unemployment rates twice that of their male peers, and many find themselves in roles that do not match their qualifications, such as former lawyers working as cashiers or engineers taking on domestic cleaning jobs. This mismatch contrasts sharply with the tech industry’s struggle to recruit and retain female talent, driving Sistech’s mission to bridge this gap.

The initiative began in Paris with a pilot program, equipping 12 women with essential technical skills and insights into the local job market. This program proved successful, with the majority of participants securing professional opportunities. Encouraged by these results, Sistech expanded both its offerings and its geographical reach, launching programs in Greece and Italy by 2021. Currently, Sistech supports over 250 refugee women annually, providing mentoring sessions, certified training, and networking events to help them integrate into the tech industry, ultimately aiding their career advancement and professional growth.

Country Information

Greece, due to its strategic geographic position, serves as a vital gateway to Europe for refugees, making it a transit and destination country for many asylum seekers from regions like Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, and Palestine. As of 2023, the nation hosts approximately 192,384 refugees. More recently, since 2022, Greece has also seen an increase in refugees from Ukraine, with many being women and children. Refugee women represent one of the most vulnerable groups in the Greek labor market, frequently facing high unemployment rates and often being overlooked by policymakers, rendering them almost invisible within their own communities.

Refugee women encounter similar workforce challenges to local women, such as self-censorship, a lack of confidence, and family responsibilities. However, they also face unique obstacles including language barriers, unfamiliarity with the local labor market, unrecognized qualifications, and the absence of a professional network. In response to these challenges, Sistech launched its program in Greece in 2021, aiming to empower refugee women to overcome the dual stigma of being both refugees and women. The organization introduces them to careers in the tech and digital sectors, offering certified training for those interested in these growing industries. Sistech provides mentorship and job-readiness skills, preparing participants to secure employment. Furthermore, the organization collaborates with tech companies that value diversity, which hire graduates and engage their employees in volunteer and mentorship roles. Over the past four years, Sistech has supported over 220 working-age women in Greece through career orientation, upskilling, and employability programs.

The Need

Refugee women are not accessing qualified jobs. Refugee women are two times more unemployed than refugee men and yet they are more educated than their male counterpart.

The Project We Fund

Refugee women often lack access to professional programs that are tailored to their unique needs, situations, and skill sets. While there are public or private initiatives aimed at integrating refugees into the workforce, these tend to focus primarily on low-skilled jobs, such as construction and catering, and fail to address gender-specific barriers that hinder women’s access to the job market. Recognizing these gaps, our project has been specifically co-designed with refugee and asylum-seeking women in mind. It leverages their transferable skills and experiences while emphasizing the creation of an enabling environment by offering flexible training schedules and locations to suit their circumstances.

Our project unfolds in three distinct phases, corresponding to key stages in refugee women’s integration journey. The first phase, the Pathway, supports newly arrived asylum-seeking and refugee women with basic or nonexistent IT skills, offering them a chance to acquire digital skills and explore tech sector career opportunities. Through weekly interactions with tech professionals, participants gain insights to broaden their career prospects and aid in making informed decisions, ultimately preparing them for the next step—joining the Springboard phase. The Springboard targets women who have settled locally and wish to retrain in the tech sector. Over 12 weeks, it provides weekly tech training sessions and online certified courses at their convenience to help them gain essential skills for internships or entry-level positions. The final phase, the Boost, focuses on those who have advanced significantly through the Springboard or any refugee women possessing relevant tech skills. This 9-week phase offers mentoring sessions, networking events, and shadowing opportunities, equipping participants with robust support to access and secure their dream careers with the help of a network of tech professionals eager to hire talented individuals.

The Result

Impact has been the guiding principle in all our projects, driven by a well-defined theory of change and progress indicators. At Sistech, we measure impact across three levels: through direct feedback and satisfaction from our beneficiaries, boasting a 96% satisfaction rate via forms, anonymous interviews, and automated data loops; by assessing the employability rate of our participants, which stands at 71%, and conducting independent impact research for each program to evaluate our results against our theory of change; and through our donor renewal rates at 80% and doubled revenue growth annually. Transparency and knowledge sharing are emphasized by publishing all impact measurement reports on our website, https://sis.tech/resources/.

This year, Sistech was ranked 8th in the top 50 Impact Entrepreneurship Ranking in Europe by HAATCH and was recognized by Impact Tank as Europe’s best practice for refugee professional inclusion, reflecting our commitment to socially impactful innovation.

2025 Midterm Report

Sistech’s program showcases significant achievements and progress. Targeted at aiding displaced women, the program has empowered 87 direct beneficiaries and indirectly impacted 609 individuals through skill acquisition, emotional support, and community integration.

Testimonies

“When I arrived in Greece, I was starting from scratch. I had no connections, no clear path, just the hope of building a new life. That’s when I found Sistech, and everything changed. Through the Boost programme, I rebuilt my confidence and my career. I used to struggle with self-doubt, but with the support of the incredible community I found through Sistech, including my mentor, I found my voice. I learned to embrace rejection, turn it into growth, and present myself with pride. Thanks to the tools and resources I gained with Sistech, I’m now a Business Associate in a field I’m passionate about—AI. Every day brings new learning and inspiration. Sistech became like a second family and gave me the courage to start over stronger than before.” – Mariia Katsi, (Ukraine) 23-

“I found out about Sistech thanks to a community partner organisation in Thessaloniki, and I am so grateful that I got to be part of two programmes. The whole experience opened my eyes. I was totally a beginner, didn’t know there were so many different career paths in technology, or that I didn’t need a degree to begin training for one. It became a pivotal moment in my career, through which I decided to pursue Data Analysis training. Sistech’s team was always there no matter what I needed, and I got to meet many other women facing similar challenges, but who also shared a similar passion for technology. All these women are working so hard to achieve their dreams, and I am grateful I have been part of this amazing group.” -Mary Onyema, (Nigeria) 36-

“Joining Sistech program was a turning point in my life. As a woman from Afghanistan, I’ve faced many barriers when it comes to education, these barriers are rooted in displacement, traditions, conflict, and limited opportunities. Since I arrived in Greece, pursuing education felt more like a dream, but Sistech changed it for me, it didn’t just give me technical training and possibility of learning new skills, it also empowered me to pursue a better future and to dream big with emotional support and dedicated mentorship. Being a part of this community, has boosted my confidence and self-esteem, and reminded me that I am capable and, I belong. I feel I have a meaningful objective to follow in life, a life that I am not just surviving, but growing and integrating into the society that now I call home. This program is life changing for me.” -Safiye Esmaeili, (Afghanistan) 33-