How Do We STEM the Tide of Male-dominated Tech Fields?

Kung Hei Fat Choi! We hope everyone was able to have some moments of festivity and joy over Lunar New Year and are currently taking care to focus on your physical health and mental well-being as we go through this fifth wave of COVID-19. TWF is starting off the Year of the Tiger with an updated look and feel to our newsletter, which will now be going out bi-weekly. In-between send outs, we encourage you to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn for our latest developments.

This Friday will mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, and its message has never been more timely. Science and technology have become everyday realities in Hong Kong with new vaccine and COVID-19 testing technology, digital passports, and required health apps. While we will emerge from this pandemic stronger and more connected, what our future looks like in terms of work, home and civic life continues to evolve. With these accelerated changes, the digital economy will play a more prominent role in our recovery efforts and there is an urgent need to ensure everyone is equipped with the necessary tech skills to thrive in their careers and to have the ability to co-create our future.

However, there is a distinct gender gap within STEM fields, with women under-represented across sectors. According to last year’s Global Gender Gap Report, women comprise only 14% of those in cloud computing, 20% of those in engineering and 32% of individuals in data and AI. We also know women are underrepresented in innovation – in the United States for instance, despite comprising 53% of individuals having obtained PhDs, only 12% of recognised innovators are women. Not only does the lack of gender diversity often perpetuate bias in the creation of technology, it also means that a sizeable segment of the population is missing out on the opportunity to contribute towards advancements in medicine, engineering, architecture and many other fields that are critical to address key problems facing today’s society.

Maximising future opportunities for underprivileged girls through STEM is a key focus at TWF. As part of this, we held a “Discover STEM for your Future” interschool virtual event for our Girls Go Tech (GGT) Programme participants. The participants joined a ‘Speed Meet’ session, where they rotated in small groups to meet with corporate volunteers who have backgrounds in STEM. Volunteers shared insights about their education and careers, and what role STEM has played throughout that journey. The participants also joined a training from Apple Education on how to make and edit video resumes using iMovie and Keynote.

The feedback from the event was very positive from participants and volunteers alike. In addition to giving participants a new skill and expanding their networks, it provides them with a clearer picture of the diversity, meaning and immense possibility that a career in STEM can provide. Let’s work together to support girls in being able to access and learn STEM-related skills and contribute to making STEM – and our future -- more gender inclusive and diverse.

Get in touch at Fiona.Nott@twfhk.org.

2022

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May, 25 2018

How Do We STEM the Tide of Male-dominated Tech Fields?

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