Women remain chronically underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite an increase in female STEM graduates in recent years, this growth has not translated to the workplace, limiting both gender empowerment and potential growth in these fields.
Trialogue’s August 2023 webinar hosted UNICEF SA Education Manager Dr Andile Dube, Vodacom Foundation Executive Head of CSI Angela Abrahams, and Vodacom Youth Academy graduate and ICT Coordinator Alusani Sitsei, for a discussion on how to close the gender skills gap and create more opportunities for women to work in STEM.
Why we need more women in STEM
South Africa’s unequal gender representation in STEM fields inhibits economic and societal growth.
Webinar panellist Dr Andile Dube spoke to the need for equal gender representation that reflects the country’s female majority as a means to strengthen the economy, provide currently lacking skills and improve individual quality of life.
“We need to remember that unless we employ women, we are letting ourselves down on the gender dividend. But we also want to make sure that girls are not left behind. These girls are soon to become household leaders and providers, and if we don’t give them opportunities to break out of poverty then we are letting down society as a whole.”
She explained that inequality begins early, with girls’ initial lower access to digital technology quickly translating to limitations in education and opportunities for future work, including STEM careers.
Referencing the UNICEF and PWC report Igniting a path for women to thrive in STEM careers, she said that the lack of awareness of STEM career opportunities was identified as a key factor in the unequal participation of girls and women in these fields. Lack of female representation in these fields continues to limit opportunities for role models who might otherwise demystify careers in traditionally male dominated fields.
Dube spoke to a wide range of interventions needed to encourage more women in STEM in South Africa. These include education interventions, such as scaling up access to online learning and skills development, exposing girls to STEM related fields, creating opportunities for job shadowing, encouraging public and private sector partnerships and encouraging entrepreneurship,
“We need to bridge the gender divide and provide opportunities for women to participate and contribute to the economy of South Africa and the economy of the world.”
Dr Andile Dube
Driving female participation in skills development programmes
Gender empowerment is a key strategic pillar for the Vodacom Foundation’s ICT-focused Youth Academy programme.
The programme, which was established in 2013 in partnership with IT and networking company Cisco, and sector education and training authority MICTSETA, provides ICT training to qualifying matriculants who lack the resources for tertiary education. Ten academies span all nine provinces to deliver the 12-month, NQF Level 4 qualification.
Vodacom Foundation panellist Angela Abrahams told webinar participants; “We are very intentional in the work that we do, ensuring that women are not only included in our programmes, but also supported through this journey. Since its inception, we have trained 1 576 young people. Each year, we have more female recruits. Last year we had 78% women and this year we are sitting on 85%.”
Monitoring and evaluation efforts found that unemployment remains a challenge for many programme graduates. The foundation’s response has been to absorb some graduates into its programmes, placing them as ICT coordinators in Vodacom community resource hubs, Vodacom supported schools, early childhood development centres and affiliated non-profit organisations.
“This gives graduates valuable work experience, but also allows them to work with schools, ECDs and NPOs who are also excluded from the digital world. This gives them an opportunity to transfer the skills that they have and make digital technology accessible to more people,” said Abrahams.
Vodacom Youth Academy graduate and ICT Coordinator Alusani Sitsei, said that the programme has transformed the way she sees her career and the kind of impact she wants to make in the future. She hopes to encourage young girls to engage in the ICT space.
Women make tech better for women
The underrepresentation of women in tech careers extends to the consumption of technology. Including women in STEM fields changes the way that technology serves women’s needs.
“We’ve seen that if we include women in STEM and tech, we also increase their participation in shaping technology,” Abrahams commented. “Technology affects the creator. When women participate, technology starts to meet the needs of women because women are also consumers.”
She added that female leaders in the tech space are needed as role models to encourage more young girls to pursue STEM and ICT careers.
“If companies don’t act, we stand to risk allowing tech to further widen the gap and increase gender disparities. If you don’t actively and intentionally work to include women in these technological spaces, tech is going to move on and women who don’t have access will be left behind.”
The underrepresentation of women in tech careers extends to the consumption of technology. Including women in STEM fields changes the way that technology serves women’s needs.
“We’ve seen that if we include women in STEM and tech, we also increase their participation in shaping technology,” Abrahams commented. “Technology affects the creator. When women participate, technology starts to meet the needs of women because women are also consumers.”
She added that female leaders in the tech space are needed as role models to encourage more young girls to pursue STEM and ICT careers.
“If companies don’t act, we stand to risk allowing tech to further widen the gap and increase gender disparities. If you don’t actively and intentionally work to include women in these technological spaces, tech is going to move on and women who don’t have access will be left behind.”
Angela Abrahams
Breaking down the barriers for women in STEM
Panellists identified some of the issues that need to be addressed in the workplace to achieve gender parity and allow women to thrive in STEM fields.
- The hostility towards women in STEM needs to be recognised. This includes acknowledging pay gaps, recognising prevailing misogynistic cultures and intentionally and actively supporting women in these spaces.
- Unconscious gender biases related to work and roles need to be actively challenged in all areas of the workplace to make the workplace in general, and STEM fields in particular, more conducive for women.
- Workplaces and leadership need to be conscious of the domestic and professional gender challenges women face, particularly in the transition from education to the workplace.
- Policies and strategies need to be employed to ensure women retain equal representation in senior, decision-making positions. This requires addressing the factors that contribute to the steady decline of women in these roles, including challenging male-domination of leadership positions, providing the necessary support and mentoring, and accommodating the specific needs of women.
- The public and private sector have a role to play at tertiary education level towards influencing greater female participation in STEM fields. They can contribute to training, mentoring, coaching and building confidence of women in these sectors, showcase successful women in these careers as role models and ensure that the right policies and processes are in place to make these fields more accommodating to young women.
Financial instruments need to promote increased access to digital skills so that women are better represented in the technology
Building programmes with big impact
Programmes designed to uplift women by encouraging female participation in STEM fields need to be strategic if they are to effect meaningful change.
“You have to become deliberate around where you contribute. If you are going to be making a critical contribution in society, you would target rural women, you would target young women who are in poverty-stricken homes. You would target quintile one, two and three schools, who would otherwise not have this access, and so deal with the social issues of poverty and access,” Dube said.
She noted that, while providing access to pre-tertiary education to young women is critical, intervention programmes need to combine education and access to technology with raising awareness of gender issues, reproductive health, identity and social issues.
“Mentor, coach and promote women in the workplace,” concluded Dube.
