800 Female Students Benefit from STEM Acceleration Programme in Kilifi
A Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) acceleration programme that aims to increase the number of women in STEM-related disciplines in the region benefits 800 girls from Kilifi County.
The She Affirms program seeks to enlist the support of women, teachers, parents, and the broader community as change agents in order to prevent girls from dropping STEM-related courses while in school.
The private sector is in a unique position to accelerate this change, according to Lucy Nasidai, the Head of Digital at Unga wa Dola, which is spearheading the programme.
“This programme has shown us that by working together, women and girls can remove the obstacles they face in pursuing careers as change makers, inventors and entrepreneurs and the private sector is uniquely placed to accelerate this change,” said Lucy
According to the United Nations, women continue to be underrepresented in STEM education and professions, comprising only 28 percent of engineering graduates, 22 percent of artificial intelligence workers, and less than one-third of employees in the global technology sector.
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According to UN Women’s website, the organization emphasizes that the limited representation of women in various fields hinders their active involvement in shaping technology, research, investments, and policy.
UN Women states that without equal participation, women’s influence in these areas will remain significantly constrained.
Furthermore, UN Women highlights that women face similar challenges in accessing fast-growing and well-paying careers.
The disruptive nature of technology and digital innovation in industries further exacerbates this inequality because women suffer disproportionately from job losses as a result of these developments.
Nasidai added that substantial STEM sector investments are required to realize Africa’s 2063 agenda, which endeavors to establish the continent as a future global authority.
“Given the complexity facing the developing world, economic growth, and improvements in the standard of living, Kenya will continue to rely of technological advancements and cooperation, which is why we need all hands on deck,” said Nasidai.
800 Female Students Benefit from STEM Acceleration Programme in Kilifi