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It’s 2019 and we are still talking about gender inequality.
In a recent opinion piece for the New York Times Joan Williams writes: “While plenty of glass ceilings have been shattered, most good jobs — from senator to scientist, comic to chief executive — are still seen as requiring what have traditionally been perceived as masculine qualities.”
I can’t agree with this more.
As an executive of a technology-based organisation, I find myself playing in an arena largely dominated by men, where the rules have not only been written by them, they favour them.
Employment figures released earlier this year painted a dark and gloomy picture of the state of our economy and the crisis young people face in finding work.
With current youth unemployment numbers at 55.2%, more and more of the conversation returns to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem).
Many see Stem-related fields as an answer to our economic turmoil.
Unfortunately, there is an underrepresentation of women in these fields here at home and across the globe.
Statistics from Unesco reveal that only 23% of global Stem talent is female.
If we turn a spotlight onto local numbers, about 40% of scientists are female, but only 23% of technology jobs are held by women.
The Engineering Council of South Africa has placed the total number of female engineers registered with the council at a mere 11% with only 4% of those being professional engineers.
Considering that eight of the top 10 scarce-skills occupations in South Africa are Stem-related, women need to be included in opportunities and economic wealth, especially as these fields will continue to be among the highest paying career paths.
It is a fact that most women spend more of their income on health and education than men, leading to better socioeconomic opportunities and faster economic growth.
Stem-degree holders are also more likely to find work after graduation, so it’s imperative we provide equitable access to these study fields.
The benefit of pursuing a Stem-related degree isn’t limited to improved access to the job market and a higher earning potential; these degree types teach valuable problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Skills that young people can transfer across environments.
How we educate our young people matters as it shapes the future of a country.
Equitable access to education funding is a major game-changer to ensure that we close the Stem gender gap.
Those same unemployment figures showed that for young graduates, unemployment was sitting at 31%, and although still high, it tells us that education makes a difference in increasing access to jobs.
Unfortunately, only 17% of households in South Africa can afford to send their children to tertiary institutions.
This equates to over half a million youth who require funding to continue the pursuit of education.
Accessing and acquiring funding at tertiary level is the number one source of anxiety for students and directly impacts student success rates.
By alleviating this stress we can ensure more young people have a fighting chance to become gainfully employed.
Communities who share in this belief have helped students on our crowdfunding platform raise more than R27 million over the last two years, of which R10 million has gone towards Stem-related degrees and more than 50% to women.
Platforms like ours level the playing field by removing barriers to access and providing a place where women can showcase their ambition, talent and passions.
Ntombikayise, is one of those students. Ntombi is currently doing her master’s in chemical engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Her mother, a single parent and a pensioner, is unable to afford the cost of the degree, but she also does not qualify for a loan.
As a postgraduate student, Ntombi does not qualify for NSFAS funding.
Apart from studying towards her master’s, Ntombi is also the founder of a non-profit organisation called the Mentees Ark, where she and five other friends, travel to her high school in Soweto, most days of the week, to tutor Grade 9 and 10 pupils in maths and science, with the hope of increasing their chances to qualify for tertiary studies.
This is how we decrease the gender gap.
By ensuring Ntombi can complete her studies successfully and by ensuring Ntombi isn’t overly burdened with debt and by ensuring she can continue being a mentor for other girls.
Many of us are concerned with the economy and high unemployment numbers.
So, why not support a student and more specifically, a female Stem student, to ensure we have a higher skilled and diverse workforce in the future. Together, it is how we tip the scales.
• Leana de Beer is the chief operating officer for Feenix, a crowdfunding platform started after the #FeesMustFall protests.
