Looking Ahead – We Ask The Experts: ‘What Are Your Hopes For The Future Of Girls In ICT’

Conversations around diversity and inclusion have become a  common topic in boardrooms across the world. With many multinational technology companies making headlines over the past few months, it is no surprise then that the momentum around issues concerning women and girls in STEM fields has once again risen to the fore.

On Thursday, 27th January, International Girls in ICT day was celebrated with the central theme focusing on ‘Digital Skills for Life’. However, this should be advocated for on an ongoing basis if sustained change is to be seen. 

Ultimately, organisations must reach common goals that encapsulate encouraging girls and young women to pursue STEM education, inspire girls and young women to work in STEM careers and engage the community and promote collaboration through partnerships

We speak to four female leaders in ICT to get their thoughts on what the future looks like for women and girls in ICT.

Ursula Fear, Senior Talent Program Manager at Salesforce 

The greatest challenge to advancing gender equality in the workplace, particularly in the technology industry, is addressing women’s under-representation in emerging roles, such as cloud computing, engineering and Data and AI. Addressing this challenge starts long before a woman enters the workforce. We need to work together – as education institutes, as business, as caregivers – to help cultivate an interest in ICT among young girls by exposing them to all the possibilities ICT holds. 

A successful outcome would be the day that we no longer need to talk about girls or women in ICT as a specific focus area. In the meantime we need to keep nurturing potential, interrogating how to make ICT more appealing to girls and women, and actively debunk any remaining stigmas, myths and stereotypes around ICT being a male field. 

Rashi Gupta, Managing Director, MFS Africa Hub at MFS Africa

The presence of women in STEM fields is crucial for driving innovation and promoting a sustainable economy. Women bring unique perspectives and problem-solving approaches that can lead to new innovations in technology and science. Additionally, having a diverse workforce in STEM industries can lead to more inclusive and equitable decision-making, which is essential for creating a sustainable future for all. Encouraging and supporting women in STEM education and career paths is not just a matter of fairness and equality, it is also a business and economic imperative. Investing in women in STEM is investing in the future.

Companies can promote women in STEM in various ways such as providing mentorship and sponsorship opportunities, offering flexible work arrangements, encouraging and supporting women to pursue further education, establishing a measurable and transparent recruitment process, and celebrating and promoting the achievements of women in STEM.

Vanashree Govender, Media Relations and Communications Manager at Huawei South Africa

Innovation and ICTs are key drivers of economic growth, especially for emerging markets like South Africa.  The country’s social and economic growth challenges call for solutionist thinking driven by innovation and ICT skills that contribute to demolishing the triple threat challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. It is the type of solutionist thinking that requires the inclusion of girls in ICTs. 

This context, is however often missed when the participation of girls in STEM and their role in ICTs is defined. It is a well-known factor that women approach problem-solving with a brain that places emphasis on specific pieces of the problem-solving process. A future for girls in ICT, is one that takes girls beyond seeing STEM as a subject, but more as an enabler of a future they desire for themselves, where they have the digital skills and are fully aware and conscious of how these can empower them to change their worlds.

Head of MiWay Blink, Keletso Mpisane

One of the biggest barriers in ICT has always been access to market and competition but for women it is also gender bias. The ICT space has historically been male dominated and though there have been strides made – over the years, there is still room for a higher presence of women in the field . These women would act as role models for the next generation, who would be in the position to take this field even further forward into a more equally representative space.