Authors: APET Secretariat

This is the 10th post in a blog series to be published in 2021 by the Secretariat on behalf of the AU High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) and the Calestous Juma Executive Dialogues (CJED)

On the 8th of March 2021, the world celebrated International Women’s Day, themed “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world on the way to the Generation Equality Forum”. This celebration highlights the achievements and contributions that women worldwide have provided to humanity and our socio-economic development.

According to the United Nations, engaging women and girls in Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) is vital towards accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals’ aspirations (SDGs).[1] Furthermore, for Africa to accomplish Aspiration 1 (a prosperous Africa, based on inclusive growth and sustainable development) and Goal 2 (well-educated African citizens and skills revolution underpinned by STI) of Agenda 2063, there is a need to include women in the education and STI-driven skills revolution increasingly. This will lead to sustainable and inclusive socio-economic growth driven by STI-based manufacturing, industrialization, agriculture, food security, and value addition.[2]

In a 2017 study conducted by the UK’s Intellectual Property Office in exploring gender profiles in patenting across the world, it was identified that Africa has the highest number of female inventors in the world[3]. Women scientists, researchers, and innovators in Africa have significantly contributed to Africa’s STI-led socio-economic development and transformation. These contributions are noted, most particularly in innovation in emerging technology development. For example, a hand-washing facility invented by a retired Ghanaian nurse, Veronica Bekoe, became a valuable, affordable tool for combating the COVID-19 virus in Africa[4].

Currently, Africa is in the process of progressively adopting and adapting emerging technologies for socio-economic development. As such, African women are needed to contribute their expertise, efforts equally and continuously develop knowledge products and innovation. However, despite such needed efforts and notable achievements, African women remain under-represented in higher education and training within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) career streams. Reports demonstrate that only approximately 28% of women account for STEM researchers,[5] with a dominating share of approximately 72% of their male counterparts engaged in STEM careers.[6]

Reasons curtailing women’s effective participation in STI-based careers on the African continent remain diverse. For example, several African communities still prioritize education and training investments towards boys than girls and women.[7] Consequently, there are fewer opportunities, provisions, and resources available for women and girls towards their education, especially STEM careers. Furthermore, there persist stereotypes among some African schools and families that suggest that boys and men are better in STEM subjects than girls and women. Boys are seen to more likely to succeed in STEM than girls would. Another stereotype is the suggestion that men are genetically superior with regards to STEM subjects[8].

In some African communities, there is sadly still a widespread perpetuation of girl-child marriages underpinned by cultural and religious inclination. Consequently, some girls end up dropping out of school and excluded from STEM opportunities, giving boys an advantage in STEM careers and education. Unfortunately, these perceptions have persistently resulted in gender inequality within STI careers and significantly limits women’s participation in STI. It inevitably curbs African women’s contributions to STI-based socio-economic development for the African continent.

Recently, some African countries have made deliberate efforts towards increasing women’s participation in STI careers and gender equality within STEM jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities.[9] The involvement of women in STI opportunities, even though inadequate, is gradually becoming visible across the continent. For instance, for Africa to effectively advance gender equality in STI across the continent, initiatives such as information technology and computer coding clubs and technology boot camps have been created to promote young girls and women’s engagement in STEM subjects. These STI promoting programmes have taken centre stage in promoting girl’s STI participation. Within these boot camps, girls are exposed to female mentors, acting as models, from across the continent to showcase their significant contributions towards STI advancements and encourage other women’s participation in STI related careers.[10]

Commendably, African countries such as Tanzania[11] and Egypt,[12] have partnered with the World Bank to develop and enact deliberate policy frameworks, such as the Human Capital Project. It addresses the enrollment gap of female students in higher education and provides for those who score highly in mathematics and science subjects in secondary schools to be automatically placed in STEM fields in post-secondary institutions.[13]

To maximize the impact of such women empowering programmes, African countries are encouraged to enact policies and seek cultural realignments that ensure that cultural and religious practices are well-aligned and sensitive to women’s challenging issues. African countries should deliberately address underlying stereotypes that effectively prevent young girls from pursuing STEM-related career choices. In addition, African teachers are encouraged to deliberately foster a STEM-desirable mindset in female students through a continued emphasis on STEM practice and application to Africa’s challenges, rather than the innate ability to improve STEM performance during their primary and secondary schooling levels.

Finally, the African Union High Level Panel on Innovation and Emerging Technologies (APET) is encouraging African Member States to narrow the gender inequality in STI by investing deliberate resource and infrastructure frameworks aimed at supporting and empowering women in science and technology. Such frameworks can form part of the Member States’ national socio-economic development aspirations. Since equal, cooperative participation and joint action between men and women can lead to STI-driven socio-economic development, Africa should actively encourage women to co-lead in science, technology, and innovation.

Featured Bloggers – APET Secretariat

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[1] https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/02/1032401.

[2] https://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/au/agenda2063-framework.pdf.

[3] https://www.pulse.ng/news/wef-top-female-innovators-2017-two-nigerians-are-listed-among-most-innovative-african/cn283gt

[4] https://www.globalcommunities.org/a-household-gets-a-veronica-bucket-after-handwashing-sensitization-in-school

[5] https://www.aasciences.africa/news/bridging-gender-gap-women-science-africa.

[6] https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/.

[7] https://www.odi.org/blogs/16653-reducing-gender-inequalities-in-science-technology-engineering-and-maths.

[8] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00060/full

[9] Twenty Year Review, South Africa, 1994 – 2014: https://www.dpme.gov.za/publications/20%20Years%20Review/20%20Year%20Review%20Documents/20YR%20Women's%20empowerment%20and%20Gender%20equality.pdf.

[10]https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-girls-stem-3-barriers-3-solutions.

[11] https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/improving-pathway-school-stem-careers-girls-and-women

[12] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/10/15/investing-in-people-an-ongoing-partnership-with-egypt

[13] https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/improving-pathway-school-stem-careers-girls-and-women.