Why Systematic Inequalities Promotes Gender Discrimination in STEM
By Purity Akoth
Investing in education and empowerment for girls drives economic growth individually and globally. Unfortunately, across many areas of the developing world, women and girls living in vulnerable backgrounds are exposed to a combination of systematic discrimination based on gender and social status. Girls face double disadvantages because of gender discrimination at the household and community level. These vulnerabilities are even stronger in isolated rural areas, where poverty, traditions, lack of infrastructure and ICT access prevails. In these areas, girls bear the brunt of the burden of poverty, disease, and gender violence.
For every additional year of secondary school, a girl gains an 18 percent increase in future earning power. The World Bank calculates that keeping girls in school and ending child marriage could add $4 trillion to the global economy. And, for each additional year a girl in East Africa stays in secondary school, she reduces her lifetime risk of contracting HIV by 12 percent.However, even women who are able to get an education earn less income and work in lower paying occupations and sectors than men do. As countries move forward with closing gender differences and enabling education, other gaps remain. Women’s participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), is one of these areas. Technology disruption could be a key growth driver for economies over the coming years.
Advancing Girls and Women’s Skills in Technology
Digital literacy and technology have become core skills for women and girls to learn in order to compete globally for emerging opportunities. LakeHub through it’s FemiDevs program has partnered with United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) to advance women and girls’ skills in technology by training more than 200 women and girls from Kisumu, Busia and Migori digital literacy and technology skills to improve their employability and give them a voice in technology workforce.Furthermore, the program has been developed in such a way that participants will not only learn and develop deep technical skills but can fill knowledge gaps; learn coding skills and jumpstart their careers in tech.
Technology training builds competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and collaboration. The future world labor market will require that employees work together to address global challenges using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A focus on STEM education is therefore crucial for women’s empowerment.
“ The fact that less women are taking up STEM courses or working in technology sectors means that talent is being misused and that economies are less productive than they could be” ~Dorcas Owinoh, Programs Director at LakeHub Foundation.
