Women
in STEM: Using digital technology to close the gender gap
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Although
the world of science and technology is dynamic and ever-changing, one component
of it—the gender gap that still exists today—seems to be standing still.
According to a UNESCO Science Report 2021, women make up only 33% of all
scientists today. This has long-term negative effects on women in addition to
short-term negative impacts on society's advancement, innovation, and other
areas.
Let's
look into why women are so underrepresented in STEM fields (science,
technology, engineering, and math). Numerous factors, including the gender
stereotype that has persisted for decades in homes and educational institutions
that boys are more suited for science and more likely to succeed in STEM-based
careers, can be blamed for the poor engagement of girls and women in science.
People
who hold this belief also hold the view that STEM fields and jobs are
inappropriate for women to pursue because they are heavily male-dominated
fields. Another reason why girls routinely miss out on the chance to go to
school is cultural views such as the idea that investing in a boy's education
would be more advantageous and yield higher returns.
These
cultural attitudes and preconceptions have serious negative effects because
they prevent women from taking advantage of the expanding economic
opportunities brought on by the growth of digitised economies. It also produces
damaging technology, such as algorithms that stigmatise job-seeking women.
According
to Article 21-A and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education
(RTE) Act, both of which took effect on April 1, 2010, they deny girls the
fundamental right to an education. All children between the ages of six and
fourteen are entitled to "free and obligatory" education under these
Acts, making it a Fundamental Right. In order to address the education of
girls, the present ruling regime launched the "Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao" campaign for women's empowerment in 2015.
However,
it was evident from the advertisements that misogyny rather than equality was
the message being spread. The slogan "Kaise khaoge unke haath ki rotiya,
jab paida hone nahi doge betiyan" (How will you eat the bread of their
hands, when you won't permit daughters to be born) means "How will you eat
the bread of their hands." Instead of promoting equality for girls and
women and preventing female foeticide, the advertisement appears to support
traditional gender norms.
The
tactic used by Mexico that appears to be working is to tell parents and
secondary school kids about the enormous demand for STEM-based professions and
the wages associated with them. Concerns about whether such a vocation is
appropriate for a woman tend to vanish once they have this knowledge.
The
level of support, opportunities, and participation of women in science across
various nations, including the European Union, the U.S.A., Brazil, South
Africa, India, Korea, and Indonesia, was evaluated in a study by the National
Assessments and Benchmarking of Gender, Science, Technology, and Innovation.
According to the report, there is opportunity inequality since women have less
access to resources including money, education, and technology, which
eventually reduces their employability.
According
to the World Economic Forum, men are more likely to get funding than women who
work in research and technology. Additionally, according to the Harvard
Business Review, as of 2020, only 2.3% of venture financing went to start-ups
with female CEOs. The study also shows that women from nations that consider
them as having poor social status and treat them like second-class citizens
have disadvantages early in life and frequently receive inadequate medical
treatment.
The
article goes on to say that even when women enrol in science and technology
programmes, about 30% are said to leave early due to insufficient flexibility
for job schedules and child care. According to Sophia Huyer, "Countries
with government policies that encourage childcare, fair pay, flexible
employment, and gender mainstreaming" have better gender parity.
Achieving
equality in opportunity and representation may be facilitated by such
developments. The survey included health, social and economic status, access to
resources and opportunities, societal policies including childcare, fair pay,
and flexible work hours, as well as participation in decision-making when
ranking the economies for gender equality. India came in last when all these
considerations were taken into account. The low educational attainment and
social standing of women in the nation can be blamed for this outcome.
Digital
technology would be a modern way to work toward gender parity. By improving
access to financial, identification, and information services, digital
technology can close the gender gap. If women try to acquire grants and loans
through digital transfer, they will have an easier time doing so since they may
bypass societal norms that might operate as hurdles, such as the belief
prevalent in many households that a male should oversee a woman's finances.
Women are financially empowered by avoiding this.
Identification
can also help a woman become more independent since it gives her access to
financial services, enables her to stand up for her legal rights, and enables
her to pursue government-promised benefits for either herself or her children.
Technology-enhanced
improvements in human rights can also be achieved through social media.
Numerous social movements, including HeForShe, MeToo, and others, have had
profound consequences on everyone. Through the use of numerous digital
platforms, cyberfeminist forums are able to mobilise people from all over the
world to address the intersectional, complex, and varying feminist agendas that
highlight the plight of women and creative solutions to systemic gender bias.
Digital
activism provides advantages such as being quick, affordable and dismantling
barriers as well as improving accessibility to powerful and influential people.
However, encouraging free expression frequently leads to undesirable hate
speech, including victim-blaming, discriminatory rhetoric, and more.
In
STEM-related fields, gender balance would be advantageous for all parties. The
European Institute of Gender Equality estimates that closing the STEM gender
gap will increase employment in the EU by 850,000 by 2050. According to a study
by the International Monetary Fund, women in the workforce contribute new
abilities that not only boost overall economic gains but also enhance male pay.