Tackling Gender Disparity in STEM: Celebrating International Girls in ICT Day 2020

International Girls in ICT Day is an initiative backed by ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Member States to encourage girls and young women to consider studies and careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies (ICT).

In Africa, there are few women involved in scientific activities and technological innovations and as such few young girls have few role models and are not encouraged nor inspired to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Experts believe that having more scientific solutions and tech innovations could help tackle majority of Africa's challenges. I agree.

Many cultures in Africa always try to "silence" the woman and make her a second class citizen. This affects a lot of young girls who are growing up including their self-confidence  thereby discouraging them from stepping into "male-dominated" fields. There are lots of job opportunities available in the ICT sector and we need to encourage and empower more young girls to get involved.

To celebrate this year's International Girls in ICT Day , InspireIT will be organizing an essay competition for young girls between the ages of 15 and 30.