The publication dedicated its "Women" section to the Junior Achievement Americas program, featuring insights from Noël Zemborain and Randall Pacheco Vásquez on women's talent, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
July 16, 2026
On July 16, Forbes Central America published the article “Investing in Women: Companies’ Commitment to Technological Competitiveness,” a feature that analyzes how training female talent has become a strategic response to the shortage of digital professionals in the region, and that highlights She's Digital one of the models that is yielding concrete results.
The report’s opening statement is striking: 63% of Central American employers identify the lack of digital talent as a barrier to their growth. In this context, the publication highlights the work of She's Digital, a program launched by Junior Achievement Americas in collaboration with IDB Lab and Kyndryl—its largest investor and current strategic partner—which aims to prepare young women to enter the technology sector.
Results that go beyond the participants
In an interview with Forbes Central America, Randall Pacheco Vásquez, director of Junior Achievement Costa Rica, reviewed the program’s main results and key insights from its most recent impact study, “Women in Technology: Findings from Junior Achievement’s Employability Programsin Latin America”: more than 5,200 female graduates in the region, an increase in income of over 33%, a 19-percentage-point increase in formal employment, and 62% of graduates working in technology roles.
The report highlights that training women in technology-related skills has a twofold impact: increased productivity for companies and greater stability for families, especially in the case of female heads of household, who account for 26% of the program’s participants.
Conclusion of the report
The report’s conclusion aligns with the evidence supporting the program: closing the gender gap in technology is not only a matter of equity, but also a strategy for regional competitiveness. As Zemborain pointed out to Forbes Central America, when women gain access to training and employment in technology, the impact extends beyond the participants themselves: it strengthens the economy and transforms entire communities.
Read the full article in Forbes Central America: Investing in Women: Companies' Commitment to Technological Competitiveness