‘Gender sensitivity key to close digital divide’
Fostering gender inclusivity in crafting digital solutions for the future is key to bridge the gender gap in the field of technology, as women still lag behind in Zimbabwe and across the region, industry experts say.
The world over, digitalisation has become a norm, which has been made more important following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Use of technology by companies has become the “highway” to the future given its extensive use in health services, manufacturing, financial sector, transport and logistics as well as communication.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies chief business officer, southern African region, Ms Lorreta Songola, said the gender disparities in the sector with fewer women across levels will make it difficult to achieve equality.
Liquid Intelligent Technologies is a pan-African technology group with operations across 14 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Established in 2005, Liquid has firmly established itself as the leading pan-African digital infrastructure provider.
“Our lives have gone digital. From the products we use daily to the content we consume
online, tech companies are increasingly influencing the direction of humanity and
creating the solutions of the future. But for far too long we have lacked female voices in
tech and the time has come to remedy that.
“Advances in technology will surely not consider women’s issues if there are no women
to point them in that direction. Women need to be part of the conversation that is
creating solutions for the future of the human race so that we can achieve equality,” she
said.
During the last International Girls in ICT Day, the Government acknowledged the gender disparity within the sector, creating scope for both public and private sector collaboration in promoting women and girls as innovators, engineers and decision making positions within the sector.
Gender disparity in science and technology is not unique to Zimbabwe and Africa alone but is a global issue although the problem is more prevalent in Africa.
According to research, in sub-Saharan Africa the overall female labour-force participation rate has reached 61 percent, yet women constitute only 30 percent of professionals in the technology industry.
According to Ms Songola, these statistics throw into light the huge gap between women and men in exploring careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, widely known as STEM.
“There still exist historical barriers preventing women from being equally represented in the industry, let alone in leadership positions. One of these is the misconception that stereotypical female attributes, such as emotion and compassion, are not suitable for tech-related careers.
“The other is that women cannot be successful in leadership roles because of the many other perceived traditional responsibilities they have to fulfil in society, such as being caregivers and taking care of the home,” she said.
Ms Songola noted changing misconceptions early on is necessary to attract more women to work in technology and encourage future leaders in industry for instance addressing the imbalance starting in schools and tertiary level where curriculums have been modified to expose young learners to the world of technology.
According to the 2017 national survey on ICT access and use by education institutions, 59,9 percent of male students had access to a computer against 40,1 percent of female students from ECD A to polytechnic colleges.
Ms Songola added mentorship also becomes critical in influencing young women to not only succeed in their chosen fields, but also help them to stay the course in the face of challenges.
She said: “With women, true and impactful mentorship programmes extend beyond the
career to include work-life balance and life stage transition challenges that they are
often faced with.”-The Herald
