Online learning can narrow the gender gap in STEM but progress is slow
Online learning is transforming STEM opportunities, but more needs to be done to bridge the digital divide
By Emma Kisa
It is a widely accepted idea that placing gender parity at the centre of solutions will enable economic recovery and change. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, one truth remains universally acknowledged: empowering women is essential for the transformation of economies and societies. The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2023 Global Gender Gap Report sheds light on the pivotal role gender equity plays in reshaping our world.
In particular, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations hold great promise for the future. These well paying jobs are expected to grow in significance, but unfortunately, there is still a significant gender imbalance. Data from LinkedIn shows that women hold a mere 29.2% of STEM roles, exposing a chasm we must bridge.
Code for Africa’s GenderGap tool, which compares wages across genders in African countries, shows that Mauritius and South Africa have the largest gender pay gap in Africa, with men making on average 93% and 40% more than women respectively. Liberia and Zimbabwe have the smallest recorded gender wage gap, with a Liberian man earning 6% less than a woman on average while a Zimbabwean man earns on average 2% more than a woman.
Gender parity has suffered significant setbacks worldwide especially in the years following the pandemic, particularly impacting women and girls in employment and education. However, there is hope on the horizon. Compared to men, women have been re-entering the workforce at a slightly higher rate.
“[Women in tech] in South Africa are fortunate to be better represented than a lot of countries in the world, specifically in the tech space for females. But, it’s still not enough,” Jessica Hawkey, managing director of redAcademy, which specialises in teaching coding and technology skills to South Africa’s youth said in an interview with IT News Africa. “If we look at the bigger context and take the full picture into account, with the dire unemployment rate, there’s a lot that we still need to do,” she added.
Tapping the potential of online learning
The WEF report highlights the potential of online learning in addressing gender gaps in future job markets. With the flexibility, accessibility, and customisation of online education, learners can acquire the knowledge they need to thrive.
However, there’s a persistent digital divide between women and men when it comes to accessing online learning platforms. According to the Gender Gap report, data from Coursera suggests that as of 2022, except for teaching and mentoring courses, there will be a disparity in enrollment in every skill category. Enrollment in technology skills and AI and big data had 43.7% and 33.7% parity, respectively. Across all skill categories, the gender gap tend to widen as proficiency levels increase.
While the percentage of female STEM graduates entering STEM employment is increasing with every cohort, the numbers on the integration of STEM university graduates into the labour market show that the retention of women in STEM even one year after graduating sees a significant drop. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) specifically, talent availability overall has surged, increasing six times between 2016 and 2022, yet female representation in AI is progressing very slowly.
Promoting STEM among girls and women
While there are challenges, there are also stories of hope across the continent. In Ghana, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the minister of education, announced that beginning next year, 2024, 12 senior high schools will offer courses in aviation and aerospace as an initiative to promote STEM in the country and enable Ghanaian students to compete in the fourth industrial revolution.
In South Africa, two new EDGE centres (Experience, Design, GTM [Go-to-Market], and Earn) have been launched by Cisco in collaboration with South African incubator WomHub, with the aim of fostering women-focused entrepreneurship within the STEM sectors.
Patience Kiyuka, an immunologist and molecular epidemiologist at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in Kilifi, is using VR technologies to introduce school children to science safely.
These and other examples can be found all over the continent. Organisations like Code for Africa (CfA) are leading the way by offering training and resources through academy.AFRICA, which trains over 6,000 annually journalists on a variety of digital media issues. It also provides a Mass Open Online Course (MOOC), which is a collection of self-paced, adaptable online courses with modular lessons for both beginners and people with more seasoned abilities in a variety of topics, from investigative and data journalism to multimedia storytelling.
CfA is also trying to bridge the gap with initiatives such as WanaData; a pan-African network of female data scientists, journalists, and technologists working to change the digital landscape by producing and promoting data-driven projects while applying digital technologies in storytelling.
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Code for Africa (CfA) is the continent’s largest network of civic technology and data journalism labs, with teams in 21 countries. CfA builds digital democracy solutions that give citizens unfettered access to actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions, and that strengthens civic engagement for improved public governance and accountability. This includes building infrastructure like the continent’s largest open data portals at openAFRICA and sourceAFRICA. CfA incubates initiatives as diverse as the africanDRONE network, the PesaCheck fact-checking initiative, the sensors.AFRICA air quality sensor network and the research and analysis programme CivicSignal.
CfA also manages the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), which gives the continent’s best muckraking newsrooms the latest possible forensic data tools, digital security and whistleblower encryption to help improve their ability to tackle crooked politicians, organised crime and predatory big business. CfA also runs one of Africa’s largest skills development initiatives for digital journalists, and seed funds cross-border collaboration.
