Concerns over gender disparity in science, tech, engineering & maths

Mobile company Vodacom says the gender disparity in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Stem) fields is alarming especially since these are jobs of the future.

To inspire more young girls to enter Stem fields, the company is planning to train 1 500 young girls in coding this financial year in the Vodacom #CodeLikeAGirl programme.

So far, 4,000 girls have embarked on the programme since 2017 which Vodacom say is a testament to the growing importance of this initiative which is designed to bridge the gender digital gap in South Africa.

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The Vodacom #CodeLikeAGirl programme is aimed at encouraging girls to explore careers that require coding skills and not only does it help develop coding, but the programme also teaches girls valuable life skills, under the guidance of accomplished mentors who are passionate about technology.

Speaking on the first day of the 2022 edition, Njabulo Mashigo, Human Resources Director for Vodacom South Africa, said the company wants to address the underrepresentation of women and girls in Stem education and careers.

“The gender disparity in Stem is alarming, especially since these are the jobs of the future. By teaching high school girls how to code, we’re opening their eyes to sequential thinking around problem-solving and stimulating creativity and design skills.”

The #CodeLikeAGirl programme was launched in 2017 in Tembisa, teaching coding skills to 20 girls from schools in the area.

Since then, it has expanded to Mozambique, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho.

Stem careers, also known as the jobs of the future, help drive innovation, social wellbeing, inclusive growth, and sustainable development in society.

A Unesco report, titled “Cracking the code: Girls’ and women’s education in Stem” found only 35% of Stem students in higher education globally are women.

Young women also comprise only 3% of students in engineering or information and communication technology (ICT).

Coding is the process of transforming ideas, solutions, and instructions into a language that the computer can understand, using programming languages like JavaScript, Java, C/C++, or Python, to act as the translator between humans and machines.

During the two-week-long training course, the high school pupils will be exposed to computer languages, robotics and development programmes including HTML, CSS, GitHub and Version control, Bootstrap and JavaScript, Basic Computer and Introduction to Coding.

They will also be taken on an empowering life-skills journey which will include developing presentation and communication skills.

By the end of the programme, each of the girls will be able to develop their own websites and present their work to the rest of their coding class.

With the right skills and a confidence boost, girls will feel empowered to aim for the skies – whether that’s literally as pilots or astronauts, or as software developers, engineers, statisticians, or architects.

Mashigo says the world is becoming increasingly reliant on digital technology, which is why coding skills are so prized, adding that coding has become such a critical skill.

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