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Tertiary Education, which includes Technical Vocational Education and Training, is an area which has seen tremendous growth in Africa, particularly South Africa, due to the increase in population and the demand for higher education. Access and success in higher education training is key. Innovation and Technology help to provide solutions to socio economic challenges, whilst training and mentorship offered to girls and women in this area can help them gain the requisite skills and take up apprenticeships and entrepreneurial opportunities to contribute to the social and economic improvement of the region.

How do you envisage the role of women as change agents in promoting gender equality and encouraging female participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields, especially in TVET?

Whilst women have a bigger role to play as mentors in promoting gender equality and encouraging other women to participate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and related fields, it is important to also involve supportive men in structured mentorship programmes who can also share their knowledge and experiences.

Most girls and women face a number of challenges starting from the home environments, which could already provide a gender biased environment in terms of opportunities; school environments, which lack appropriate infrastructure for teaching and learning; and in higher education – rapid dropout rates due to lack of adequate support and mentorship. In some African contexts, challenges are compounded by many social factors that affect regular class attendance and poor quality of teaching especially in the technical subjects.

About Durban University of Technology

Durban University of Technology is a UNEVOC Centre and one of the institutions of higher education in South Africa. Over 30,000 students each year with a significant percentage of these in Science, Engineering and Technical areas. The University runs an entrepreneurship and innovation programme that helps young women and men to start up their own enterprises. The incubation space allows for time out from the formal curriculum for these young entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and products and take them to the commercialization stage. Learn more here.

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We should capitalize on the advancement of technology to close the gender gap. This can be done by using the media, especially social media, to disseminate the success stories and achievements of women in TVET, to serve as motivation for the younger generation. In addition, knowledge-sharing platforms that help to connect women in TVET across the globe can be used to raise awareness of gender gaps within the sector and the promotion of emerging careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields, , specifically for girls.

How do you envisage the role of women as change agents in promoting gender equality and encouraging female participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields, especially in TVET?

Women as mothers can act as change agents during the role socialization of their children by teaching girls that they can do anything that boys do. Women should serve as mentors and role models to encourage, support and inspire the younger generations. Teachers and educators can also play a vital role by encouraging and motivating girls to feel comfortable in the classrooms, particularly in typically male-dominated subjects, to perform at their best. Efforts should be made to present TVET teaching materials which showcase pictures of girls and women undertaking training and in leadership roles.

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Every day, we observe how technologies have been incorporated into people's daily lives and how countries have utilized these technologies to increase their levels of competitiveness. Chile has been determined to keep pace by implementing public policies that encourage the adoption, development, and use of technologies by citizens, businesses, and government. However, a new challenge has arisen whereby demand is far exceeding the number of skilled technology professionals entering the labour market. Due to the high demand, training courses in IT sub-specialties are becoming increasingly common. This training model allows countries to meet, in part, this existing over-demand, by providing specific and segmented knowledge according to the renewed needs of the industry.

Against this background, “Mujeres Programadoras e Ingeniosas” (Ingenious Female Programmers) was launched in 2016 by DUOC UC, in partnership with CORFO, ACTI, and Fundación Kodea. The IT sector in Chile has a low level of female participation– generally fluctuating between 8-16%. This low participation limits the development of a diverse technological sector with a wide range of viewpoints, and excludes women from a sector filled with opportunities. DUOC UC wanted to provide a pathway to significant improvement in their quality of life, through access to well-paid jobs, which could be done remotely or with flexible schedules.

During 4 months of intensive training, the female trainees were taught logical reasoning and basic programming in JAVA and .NET technologies. This first cycle of the programme produced 71 women graduates and more than 80% of them are now working in companies in the IT sector. After the successful pilot programme, the second cycle of Ingenious Female Programmers, this time funded by JP Morgan Chase Foundation, was launched in 2018 . The second programme has trained 56 women who are now in the process of labour market insertion. These types of training programmes have made it possible to increase the enrollment of women in careers in this field. Between 2018 and 2019, the percentage of female participation doubled from 11% to 22%. By aligning with labour market requirements, being flexible, and being able to educate and train for the world of work, TVET has become an effective tool towards the achievement of gender equality.