Put more stem women in positions of power

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter

THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) has said there is a need to put more women in influential positions in science and technology-related fields.

This will enable women to benefit from opportunities that come with information communication technologies.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (stem) related fields are male-dominated both in schools and at the workplace.

Only 22 percent of women in the country have taken up stem courses in the country.

In a statement to commemorate International Women’s Day, which was running under the theme: “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” Zimstat said women lag behind on use of technological gadgets compared to their male counterparts despite the country recording an increase in the use of information, communication technologies.

“Data shows that the gender gap in access to ICTS still exist, and this keeps women from realising the full potential of ICTS. Because women are under-represented in STEM education, the ripple effect is felt also in the areas of work where women are also under-represented,” read the statement.

“There is notable gender differentials in the ICT skills that women and men possess. This can be attributed to the training that women receive in school which is not STEM related.”

Zimstat said while women are underrepresented in stem learning, their usage of ICTs gadgets has significantly increased.

“This includes women’s access to and use of computers and the internet. In 2014, the proportion of women age 15-49 years who reported having ever used a computer was 19 percent, while 20 percent had ever used the internet from any location. In 2019, the corresponding proportions were 29 and 34 percent, respectively,” reads the Zimstat statement.

It said data from the 2019 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey showed that fewer women had ICT skills than men in all the areas that were collected in the survey.

“Overall, about 13 percent of women 15-49 years reported having performed at least one of the listed ICT skills below. The corresponding proportion for males was 21,6 percent. The statistics further reveal that the skills gap is apparent between rural and urban areas, underscoring the need to improve access in rural areas,” read the statement.

Zimstat said findings from the 2022 Population and Housing Census show that females settle for non-stem related subjects.

“On the side of education and training that women are choosing to pursue; data shows that women are opting for areas of study that are not science related. Information collected during the 2022 Population and Housing Census show that women constituted only 22 percent of all persons in the country who studied engineering, manufacturing and construction; and about 32 percent among people who studied ICTs,” read the statement.

-@nqotshili