Young girls encouraged to take up careers in emerging Science fields

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Minister Blade Nzimande amplified his call for young girls to take up space in science, technology and innovation during his opening address at the G20 Women and Girls in Science side event.

This event forms part of a series of activities by the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, under the auspices of the G20 Research and Innovation Working Group programme, which is chaired by Minister Nzimande. 

Hosted in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), Women 20 (W20) and Youth (Y20) and the DSTI’s entity, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Nzimande used the event to amplify his call for young girls to take up space in science, technology and innovation.

“We also want you to go into emerging careers such as Data Analysts and Scientists, AI and Machine Learning Engineers and Robotics Engineers,” he remarked.

Girls denied entry into the fields of Science

Reflecting on the historical problem of the oppression and exclusion of women, Minister Nzimande stated that; “For decades, discriminatory laws and practices have been used to deny women and girls equal access to various development opportunities, including entry into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.”

“This exclusion didn’t just impede the development of women and girls, but it also resulted in the skewed development outcomes for various countries. One of the enduring lessons that this teaches us is that, for any national development to be meaningful and sustainable, it must be inclusive,” added the Minister.

Expressing concern for the persistence of global gender inequities, Nzimande stated that; “Even though commendable progress has been made in a number of respects, it is also true that our world continues to exhibit worrying gender inequities.

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“For instance, women make up less than one-third of the STEM workforce worldwide and only about 33.3% of researchers worldwide are women.”

As part of addressing the development challenges facing women and girls, Minister Nzimande also highlighted some of the interventions by his department such as the African Girls’ Can Code Initiative (AGCCI), the South African Chapter of SADC WISETO (Women in Science, Technology, and Engineering), the Women in Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WISTEM) portal and the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA).