But women remain outnumbered in academia
The latest report compiled by Times Higher Education (THE) and the United Nations Scientific, Cultural and Educational Organization, found that 47% of African universities’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates, undergraduates and postgraduate levels are women. This means Africa now has highest proportion of female STEM graduates. However, the report found that women remain outnumbered at student and academic staff levels.
According to Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini, African universities have the highest percentage of women science graduates in the world, but lags behind in other gender equality areas. The corresponding proportion for Asia is 41%, the same as South America, 42% for Europe, North America 39% and 38% for Oceania.
These findings were based on gender distribution contributed by 776 universities to THE in its 2021 world university rankings exercise, as well as bibliometric data from 2015 to 2019. Of the total number of universities providing gender information, only 49 were African.
However, while Africa performed relatively well in the proportion of women graduates, it lagged behind in other categories such as the provision of gender policies in universities or provision of scholarships and mentoring schemes for women. It found that 36% of senior academics globally are women, but that only 29% of papers published globally between 2015 and 2019, had a female author.
Relative to the rest of the world, Africa’s proportion of female senior academics is high, but does not break through the 40% ceiling. African universities were also found “less likely” than others to have gender equality and discrimination policies.
Let’s accelerate the women in STEM agenda today; tomorrow will be too late! – Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini
African science is home to an inspiring group of women, pursuing non-traditional careers for women such as aircraft pilots, physicians, electrical engineers and computer programmers. Still, there continues to be a gross underrepresentation of women in the STEM fields in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
The percentage of females graduating from tertiary education engineering fields is below 30% for many SSA countries. Consequently, scientific work and technological innovation are missing women’s invaluable perspectives and critical contributions. This also means that most women will remain in jobs that are likely to be replaced by technology on lower pay grades or less economically impactful in an increasingly technology-driven world.
Share of Female Tertiary Graduates in Engineering
Source: UNESCO Science Report: Towards 2030, 2015
The situation in SA and neighbouring countries
Existing data shows that globally, there is a “leaky pipeline” leading to few women in STEM careers and Southern Africa is no different. In Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and South Africa (SA), girls’ secondary education enrolment is higher than for boys, but many of them drop out before completing their secondary education.
Of those who complete secondary education, many lacks the required proficiencies in numeracy, science and the digital skills required to enrol and/or excel in STEM related programs at the tertiary education level. In SA, 50.3% of girls compared to 58.6% boys achieved 30% or higher in Mathematics in the National Senior Certificate Examination. In the Eswatini General Certificate of Secondary Education, 22% of girls achieved a pass grade in Mathematics compared to 35% of boys, while the corresponding figures in Science were 24% for girls and 31% for boys.
The Equality Equation Report cites gender norms, stereotypes, biases and sexual harassment as key drivers of low representation of women in male-dominated STEM fields. It opines that gender biases and expectations for different genders, set by families, society, culture and the media, tend to enforce such stereotypes, discriminatory practices and policies deterring girls from pursuing STEM careers and resulting in women leaving STEM careers. These challenges limit the chances of girls’ exposure to these fields, discouraging more girls from pursuing STEM careers, creating a vicious circle.
How to change the status quo
Marie-Nelly opines in a World Bank (WB) blog, that some of these key drivers of gender disparities in STEM fields “are known and solvable.” She also stresses that there is no lack of innovative initiatives across Africa in targeting some of these root causes, saying it is time “to scale up interventions proven to be game changers.” According to her, the focus should be on incorporating gender-responsive and integrated STEM education in the pre-tertiary education curricula; providing mentorship and hands-on training opportunities for girls and young women in collaboration with STEM industries and promoting flexible and family-friendly workplace policies.
Marie-Nelly stresses that the WB is committed to strengthening STEM education, especially as it pertains to girls and young women. In Lesotho, the WB is supporting government to strengthen teaching and learning in Mathematics and Science in junior secondary education through an innovative, technology-driven largely open-source solution which provides access to high quality, interactive and fun materials for students to learn these subjects.
Regionally, initiatives such as the Africa Centres of Excellence project, support postgraduate programs and applied research across various STEM, agriculture and health fields. Spearheaded by African governments, the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) initiative has a Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund, prioritising supporting the PhD training of young faculty members and women in applied science and engineering fields.
“Without doubt, much has been done, yet much more needs to be done. With the proliferation of technology and a rapidly growing global digital economy, it is imperative deliberate policies are put in place to ensure all students in the region have equal opportunities to acquire STEM-related competencies from early childhood through higher education. Let’s work towards shattering these long-standing barriers and ensure that girls and young women in both rural and urban communities across our region are empowered and inspired to explore future careers in existing and new frontiers of science, technology and innovation,” Marie-Nelly urged.
