By Awa Sowe
The future of our continent depends upon the full utilization of the human capital available to us; and women account for half of its population. Throughout the world, and particularly in Africa, there is a stark under-representation of women in Science, Technology, and Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professions.
The leaky pipeline of women and girls begins as they start and progress through their schooling and enter into science and technology-based careers. According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates, only 30% of researchers in sub-Saharan Africa are women, with the gender gap especially apparent in disciplines such as mathematics, engineering and computer science. Studies also indicate that women in STEM are paid less, publish less and do not progress as far in their careers compared to their male counterparts. This is a loss for the science, technology and innovation field and for society. To advance as a continent, we must increase the enrollment of women and girls in STEM and scale approaches to enhance their attraction to and retention in the sector.
This inequality begins in schools, where girls may be diverted away from science and math subjects before it spills into the real world to courses that are regarded as feminine.
One could understand the two predominant stereotypes reinforced over the years were that ‘boys are better at math and science than girls’ and ‘science and engineering careers are masculine domains’. Such explicit gender stereotypes that communicate that STEM studies and careers are male-dominated, negatively affect girls’ interest, engagement and achievement in these areas.
Science, technology and innovation are pegged to be key drivers of Africa’s industrialization. But as new roles in STEM fields continue to outpace the rate at which women are currently entering those jobs, women are at risk of losing out on today’s and tomorrow’s best job opportunities.
Nyima Jobarteh a Gambian electrical engineer, is one woman who is impressively breaking the barriers and shattering the glass ceiling.
In this interview, Ms Jobarteh, who doubles as the Public Relations Officer for Women in Science Technology Engineering and Maths (WiSTEM) organization, explained her motivation to join the engineering field. She said the credit goes to her dad who sent her to Botrop Technical Junior Secondary School. She narrated that when she attended home economics class and she found it so boring and uninteresting that she would lay on the desk because she would there the whole time without understanding anything. “The teacher wouldn’t have that; so she would send me out of her class. I decided to go to the metal work class and fell in love with the subject,” she said, adding that she did both metal work and wood work with engineering as a career and field in mind.
The WiSTEM PRO went on to explain why gender equity in STEM is important, saying more equal playing field could help narrow the male-female skills gap, increase employment and productivity of women, reduce occupational segregation.
The engineer mentioned that empowering more women in STEM also has the potential to upset the cycle of poverty in underserved communities, in which girls often do not have access to the same opportunities as men.
More crucially, she further posited, a broad and diverse workforce is also needed to tackle the stereotype that STEM is a male-dominated field. She however admitted that the field comes with a lot of obstacles as male colleagues who you have the same qualifications with you can never look at you as they will look at their male counterparts. “You have to constantly proof yourself out there,” she pointed out.
Further on the obstacles, Ms Jobarteh cautioned that it is a demanding field and so balancing it with home making can be tough. “Society needs to understand that as career women we are fully engaged and it takes a lot of efforts to balance between home and career”.
She postulated that girls and women achievements and interests in STEM are shaped by the environment around such as the effects of societal beliefs and the learning environment. “By creating a “growth mindset” environment, teachers and parents can encourage girls’ achievement and interest in math and science,” she added.
Research profiled that girls assess their mathematical abilities lower than do boys with similar mathematical achievements. At the same time, girls hold themselves to a higher standard than boys do in subjects like math, believing that they have to be exceptional to succeed in “male” fields.
WiSTEM
According to the sprouting engineer the Women in STEM (WiSTEM) The Gambia is a network of Gambian women in STEM professionals with the mission to encourage girls to study and practice STEM and to provide mentorship and sisterhood network to young women STEM professionals.
“There are fewer women STEM professionals because of stereotype and lack of role models. We want to change this narrative because STEM contributes immensely to our advancement as a society, which young girls and women have a role to play,” she noted.
Engineering and computer science are the two most lucrative STEM fields which remain heavily male dominated. Only 21% of engineering majors and 19% of computer science majors are women.
Further on their role Ms Jobarteh intimated that WiSTEM is to promote the study and practice of STEM among girls in The Gambia; to provide mentorship and career coaching for students (especially female students) and fresh graduates; to organize outreach programs in secondary schools, tertiary institutions and universities , meeting parents at community level to discuss the importance of STEM and encourage them to motivate their children to choose the STEM field; to organize STEM related voluntary services to the community, to organize networking events, seminars and conference as well as organize award nights
The World Economic Forum estimates that the fourth industrial revolution will present a total gain of two million jobs in STEM-related fields (that women are particularly at risk of losing out on) and a loss of 4.7 million jobs concentrated in routine white collar office functions; such as office and administrative roles (predominantly held by women). There is therefore an urgent economic incentive to include women more fully into the science and technology workforce and to skill our young girls for a future that is quickly catching up with us. This is no longer perceived as a social issue alone, but also as a business issue -costing women, companies and ultimately, entire economies. Addressing these gaps will ultimately be a determinant of Africa’s future economic prospects.
