Bolor-Erdene Battsengel is state secretary of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Mongolia. At 27 she was appointed chairwoman of the Government of Mongolia’s Communication and Information Technology Authority, the youngest and first female to hold this position.
What may be more impressive is that she is also the youngest leader in the current Cabinet. Since taking up the post, she has crafted the five-year plan to transform Mongolia into a “digital nation”, and as part of the process launched the ‘E-Mongolia’ platform that digitized 181 popular government services for easy public use. Battsengel started the Girls for Coding program to train young girls from rural areas in Mongolia to learn to code.
Your early history suggests an interest in public affairs. What got you interested in tech? Why?
I think one way or the other, many people in different career paths get involved with technology as technology has already become part of our lives.
In 2019, I left my job at the World Bank and moved back to my home country, Mongolia, to implement a research project called “Nomads in the Digital Age” in collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
We conducted in-depth research on digital readiness and worked with the Government on Mongolia’s digital strategy. When we finished the project, I pitched an idea to digitize all the government services to the Government and received their support.
After a few months of implementing E-Mongolia, I was offered to work as a Chairwoman of the Communications and Information Technology Authority (CITA). In less than two years, we digitized over 650 government services, had four laws approved, and transformed the CITA into the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications of Mongolia.
I firmly believe that technology can help many developing countries to solve social problems and give a second chance to accelerate nations' economic development.
Does being a woman in a largely male-dominated field (both tech and government) intimidate you? How do you address the bias that exists towards women and towards the post you occupy today?
It never intimated me. However, I don’t wish any woman to experience high-level political pressure as I have been experiencing. Gender bias towards young female leaders is inevitable in political and government high-level positions.
Being accepted as a young female leader is very challenging compared to men, and pay is also much lower according to many studies in different countries. When a woman becomes a leader in government or politics, she opens many doors for fellow women and helps fight existing gender bias.
For that reason, I want to encourage girls to acknowledge the hardships and challenges of young female leaders who are representing them.
Why do you think it’s important for women to pursue a career in tech?
The most important thing is to have the option to pursue a career in tech. In many of the countries I visited, girls are encouraged to become administrative staff, such as accountants. From an early age, many education systems around the world unknowingly encourage girls to help men succeed rather than having their own careers.
Therefore, I have started an initiative called the “Girls Coding” program which brings girls from underprivileged communities in rural areas to Ulaanbaatar city for three months to take part in a boot camp and learn how to code as well learn English.
Last year, 30 girls enrolled in the program, of which 12 are now in prestigious universities taking software engineering programs. In addition to this, many girls are working part-time in tech companies.
What would it take, though, for women to finally have equal footing in both tech and government?
Gender inequality is a foundational problem for humanity. Sadly, globally we have not experienced gender equality in both government and the tech sector yet. Governments around the world need more and more female leaders to solve problems and to make decisions that are inclusive and child friendly.
Supporting women and voting for women is a simple step for female figures to have equal footing. We as women also need to support each other more. This is why it is very important we educate our younger generations to be more supportive of each other.
You’ve been credited with introducing Mongolia to the digital world. If you can sum it up, how did you overcome the scepticism (and bias)? What do you hope to accomplish with e-Mongolia?
I have overcome scepticism by working hard to show the results to our citizens. I still face many challenges and obstacles, but these only make us work harder to create a more positive impact and use technology to solve problems.
My ambition is to make Mongolia a Digital Nation. For us, that means using technology to accelerate the development of all sectors while ensuring digital inclusion and transitioning to a digital economy.
We are in the very early stage of delivering outputs to become a fully digital nation. But within a short period of time, we already have 90% of the adults in the E-Mongolia platform, the government’s electronic system that makes interactions between citizens and the state easier via digital solutions and creating a friendlier environment for local and international tech companies.
I truly think that Mongolia is a tech hidden gem in Asia and I encourage international companies to operate here.
After e-Mongolia, what is next on your agenda?
Digital Inclusion is my next priority. In a world where people live with economic and educational inequalities, it is very important to deliver technology and digital literacy to those who are already left out.
Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world but a very beautiful country. Therefore, it is very important for us to deliver technology to our nomadic communities. Next is cybersecurity - as much as we digitize and use technology, it is vital to ensure our data is protected and safe.
What is your advice to other women aspiring to become leaders?
Be brave and take the next step in the right direction for you. Changing even a little bit takes hard work and effort, but mostly, it takes bravery. Many women sit behind, as they might not want to take risks because they have more responsibilities to take care of their families.
Bravery to pursue the right path that can also help people is the best thing you can do as a young female leader.
