By Mfreke Akpabio
When I think about the first time, I was confronted with the reality of the stereotypes surrounding young African women in STEM (science, technology, economics and mathematics), I vividly recall trying to persuade a friend of mine to enroll in an online course in Data Analytics instead of French. She looked at me and sneered, “what lady would take a course that involves mathematics instead of French?” Sounds like an African Aunty, doesn’t it? But it is not an African Aunty, and these beliefs are shared across generations, socio-economic classes and genders. It is these beliefs, beliefs that propagate the narrative that “this is men’s work” or “this isn’t for women”, that influence the marginalization and visibility (lack thereof, actually) of young African women in STEM.
According to Pew Research Center, a STEM worker earns two-thirds more than those employed in other fields. A career in STEM can be very lucrative, so why is the percentage of women in the field still so low?
Here are 4 misconceptions about women in STEM.
Gender Stereotypes: Men are naturally more interested in STEM fields than women, while women are naturally more interested in fields that revolve around caregiving and service provision. This is a very popular misconception because it is not a question of nature. Attributing nature to the fact that more men are represent in STEM, is incorrect. As a result of biased social conditioning, men display more interest in STEM fields. From the home setting, we find that parents tend to talk to their sons more about STEM and invest in more STEM opportunities for their sons in comparison to daughters. STEM is more broadly accepted as a masculine field, which in turn deters more women from studying and working in STEM. These fields in turn become male dominated and lose their appeal to women because, we all know how male dominated working environments can be challenging for women (ie. Higher proclivity to experience stress and anxiety than in more balanced working environments, fewer career development opportunities and sexual harassment).
Fewer Role Models: Because the representation of women and girls in STEM is so low, girls and young women don’t get to see many examples of other women and girls in STEM. This is not just a reality in the work place, it’s reflected in books, media and in general society. There are even fewer models of representation of African women in STEM. With relatively low numbers of women in STEM, girls have fewer role models to inspire their interests in these fields.
Girls Are Bad At Math: The misconstrued assumption that girls are bad at math is widespread. Most teachers and parents often underestimate girls’ math abilities and these lower expectations are estimated to contribute to half the gender achievement gap in math. However, there’s no gender difference in mathematics ability.
Women are making progress in STEM, but we’re not there yet in terms of closing the inequality and under representation gap. We still have a long way to go. So here are 4 ways that could help in closing these gaps:
Create Awareness from Pre-School: Establish and intensify STEM education that is focused on supporting girls starting from early education and through high school. Sensitize parents and teachers on social biases and encourage the perspective that boys and girls have the same abilities in STEM, and should therefore be supported equally.
Encourage Women in College to Major in the STEM Field: There should be increased awareness of career opportunities in STEM for women in college. And courses in STEM should be designed to be more attractive for women.
Female Mentors and Role Models: We need female mentors and role models; girls cannot be what they cannot see. Women who are in STEM should consider mentoring programs at schools. I believe if girls had as many role models of women in STEM as boys do this will help debunk the man misconceptions around young women in STEM.
Encourage STEM Employers to Hire and Promote Women: Women should be given equal opportunities to work and thrive in STEM fields. STEM employers should be urged to recruit and promote women and also develop a welcoming work environment for women in STEM careers.
As we celebrate International Day for Girls in ICT this year, let’s work together to narrow the gender gap in STEM.