Africa must bust the myth that girls aren't good at maths and science

In Africa, as throughout the world, societies are recognizing that girls and women have just as much to offer scientific and mathematical fields as boys and men. Still, the stigma and the mindset that "girls just aren't that good at science and math" persists. If we want to see more women in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics; we have to start at the beginning of the pipeline -- when those women are girls, being influenced by the representations they see and the ideas that surround them. This article from CNBC Africa explores how education and communication play a part, as well as specific obstacles faces by black women, the role of history, how to address the gender imbalance, and how to encourage exploration of math and science by girls, opening minds -- and expanding horizons.  cnbcafrica.com - Africa must bust the myth that girls aren't good at maths and science

Children’s ideas about what their gender means for their intellectual capacity are formed before they have even turned six. One idea that’s particularly pervasive and dangerous is that, only boys are good at maths and science.

Popular media only exacerbates the problem. Research has shown that girls hardly ever see adult women doing jobs that involve science, technology, engineering and maths on television programmes. Children’s programmes also rarely feature women doing anything scientific.

These early stereotypes may lead to young girls developing a “fear” of these subjects throughout their schooling. This ultimately limits their career aspirations. They become afraid to enter into fields that are based on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Statistics compiled by UNESCO reveal that, globally, women make up less than 30% of the people working in STEM careers. The situation is worse in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

In South Africa, where I live and work, the problem is worsened by the country’s apartheid history. Today, black women are still struggling to access scientific careers at all. Those who do may fall victim to the “leaky pipeline” syndrome: they start degrees in science, but don’t continue to postgraduate level or go on to work in STEM fields. There are many reasons for this, including gender bias.

by Nox Makunga, Stellenbosch University

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Intel: Connecting People to Their Potential

  Education is the single most powerful tool we have for unlocking economic opportunity and building a foundation for a successful future.

Technology plays an increasingly critical role in that equation, improving options for and the quality of education for millions around the world.

Empowering Girls and Women Through Education and Technology

Intel: Empowering Girls & Women Through Education & Technology

Expanding technology access is a crucial early step in empowering underserved populations, including girls and women.

The educational benefits made possible by technology can be powerful no matter if a person wishes to learn how to speak English, increase crop yield or become an entrepreneur. Click here for more information.

Intel: Connecting People to Their Potential

Through the Intel Global Girls and Women Initiative, Intel is working to empower millions of girls and women around the world by closing the gender gap in education access, inspiring more girls and women to become creators of technology, and connecting girls and women to opportunity through technology access.

Internet Access: A Global Example

Internet access differs dramatically around the world. Notably left behind are girls and women. On average, nearly 25 percent fewer women than men are online in developing countries. This represents 200 million fewer women than men who are online today.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, the size of the gap is nearly 45 percent.
• The gap is nearly 35 percent in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
• It is nearly 30 percent in parts of Europe and across Central Asia.
• In most higher-income countries, women’s Internet access only minimally lags that of men’s and in countries such as France and the United States, in fact exceeds it.
• As a comparison, the gender gap in China is about 20 percent.

Statistics from Women and the Web Report by Intel Corporation

Educate a Girl, Change the World

Intel: Connecting People to Their Potential

Girl Rising is a global action campaign for girls' education. It started with a groundbreaking, inspirational flm. Now it’s a movement to lift barriers to girls' education, to drive change and motivate leaders to take action.

Intel is a founding strategic partner of the Girl Rising campaign as well as supporter of the digital distribution of the film.

Girl Rising

From Academy Award-nominated director Richard E. Robbins, "Girl Rising" journeys around the globe to witness the strength of the human spirit and the power of education to change the world.

Viewers get to know nine unforgettable girls living in the developing world: ordinary girls who confront tremendous challenges and overcome nearly impossible odds to pursue their dreams. Prize-winning authors put the girls’ remarkable stories into words, and renowned actors give them voice.

Join the Campaign

Want to show the film at your school, company or community organization? Millions have experienced Girl Rising around the world. Bring the flm to your community by hosting a screening. A story can inspire. A story can deliver powerful truths. A story can change lives. Click here to learn how to get involved with Girl Rising.

Connecting Women to Opportunity Through Technology

Intel: Connecting People to Their Potential

Intel She Will Connect

The Intel She Will Connect program aims to close the Internet gender gap by connecting millions of girls and women to opportunity through technology. The Internet in particular, has transformed the lives of billions of people. It functions as a gateway to ideas, resources, and opportunities that never could have been realized before.know how to use the Internet, but we don’t know how to use it to benefit our lives.”

Women and the Web

Technology, the Internet in particular, has transformed the lives of billions of people. It functions as a gateway to ideas, resources and opportunities that never could have been realized before. All around the world, the Internet is helping people to imagine new possibilities. But girls and women are being left behind.

As the Internet can provide enormous economic, social and professional value, the Internet gender gap has very serious consequences for women and for society more broadly.

Learn more about the Women and the Web Report.

Inspiring Girls to Become Technology Creators

Intel: Connecting People to Their Potential

MakeHers Report: Engaging Girls and Women in Technology through Making, Creating, and Inventing.

Our world needs more female innovators to tackle its toughest challenges.

The Maker movement has the potential to engage more girls and women in creating technology: Learn how Making can inspire more women to be technology innovators.

Six ways to engage more girls and women in making

• Build: Build more girl- and women-inclusive maker environments in public places like libraries and schools.
• Encourage: Encourage parents to "embrace the mess" and engage in making with their sons and daughters.
• Design: Design maker spaces that enable open-ended investigation of projects meaningful to girls and women.
• Align: Align with current fads to attract girls to activities such as coding and making hardware.
• Develop: Develop initiatives that five girls more access to female mentors and makers of their own age.
• Include: Include facilitators in maker spaces to create a safe, supportive, inclusive environment for girls and women.

Intel supports a range of programs, competitions, and resources that seek to inspire and empower more girls and women to create and build the technology of the future.

Intel focuses on programs that feature hands-on activities such as "Maker" projects and coding, involve peer mentors and role models and connect technology and engineering careers to positive social impact.

Yes, Girls Do Code

From creating apps that teach coding to inventing umbrellas that light up when hit with raindrops, girls show they have the skills and vision to excel in technology careers.

The Girls Who Code program teaches girls coding skills through computer and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) projects to inspire and prepare them for college and to close the gender gap in technology-related companies. Watch the video.

Intel Science Talent Search (STS)

Intel STS finalists demonstrate vision, creativity and determination to make the world better using science. Projects range from seeking better ways to locate cancer cells, to using computer science to find distant galaxies. Five female semifinalists and finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search share their groundbreaking discoveries in medicine, astronomy and biology, breaking down gender stereotypes in STEM to show that girls can change the world. Explore their projects.

Exposing Girls to Technology

The CompuGirls program offers girls from under-resourced school districts the opportunity to attend summer and after-school classes to learn the latest in digital media, games and virtual worlds.

It’s not often people have the opportunity to connect professional skills with their personal passions. Eshe Pickett, a design automation engineer at Intel, believes that volunteering with CompuGirls is an opportunity to change the world, "one girl at a time." Pickett not only enjoys her job, she enjoys the unique opportunity to combine her professional skills with her passion for impacting the lives of young women. Read more...

Click here for more information about Intel’s initiatives to inspire girls and young women to pursue studies and careers in technology, engineering and computer science and to see all the ways Intel is collaborating to connect people to their potential and advance economic empowerment.

Article by Suzanne Fallender, Intel Corporation

All photos courtesy of Intel Corporation

© 2015 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Featured Act: Empowering girls with tech and science in Ghana

The Melton Foundation is a network of citizens around the world that promotes global citizenship to address issues around the world, as well as to encourage individuals and organizations to reach across boundaries and work together. Last month they started featuring philanthropic efforts in their 100 Acts of Global Citizenship  program. The first Featured Act is the work of Melton Fellow Vladimir Fomene, who encourages young students--especially girls--to learn coding and computer science starting at an early age.

meltonfoundation.org - This post is the first Featured Act from our 100 Acts of Global Citizenship program. To discover more acts, visit our campaign page!

Vladimir Fomene, a Melton Fellow from Cameroon, studies computer science at Ashesi University. When he started thinking about his Act of Global Citizenship, Vladimir wanted to address a social cause in his own field of study. That's how he came up with the idea to empower young people, especially girls, with technology skills.

"When I started coding, I realized that things would have been easier if I had started when I was very young," Vladimir said. "I thought it would give people more opportunities if they start coding at a very early age."

Vladimir organized a workshop for junior high students at Christ the King International College in Accra which included teamwork activities, a graphic design session and scratch programming session. Although the session was open for both boys and girls, Vladimir especially encouraged the girls to participate actively.

"In STEM fields, there is a gender balance problem because they are dominated by men," Vladimir says. "Many more girls are interested in going for technology fields, but they are not introduced to these things early on."

Read more here.

Priceless feminist archive goes digital

Turkey's only women's library is marking its 25th anniversary with an ambitious plan: Expand and digitize its archive. Click through to read more about the vision behind preserving this priceless academic resource. hurriyetdailynews.com - ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s only women’s library celebrates its 25th anniversary with ambitious plans to expand and digitize

It is a quiet afternoon in Turkey’s only women’s library and Professor Fatmagül Berktay, a renowned feminist academic and activist, is, as usual, hunched over a pile of books.

However, she is not grading papers or doing research; she is signing books from her personal archive to donate to this unique and venerable institution, while also drafting plans to fully digitalize the center’s archive.

Berktay, a professor of political science at Istanbul University and the writer of many books on women’s issues in Turkey, is chair of the executive board of Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkezi Vakfı (Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation).

A renovated Byzantine-era building closely linked to the Fener district’s Greek community, the library was once a female school connected to a nearby monastery on the banks of Istanbul’s Golden Horn.

After going into decline, the building is now home to this special library founded in 1990 by five Turkish women.

Read more here.

Women in Science: Meet the Stemettes star inspiring more girls into STEM

Anne-Marie Imafidon, a child prodigy in math and science, has spent the past three years leading an organization dedicated to helping girls follow in her path. She spoke with International Business Times UK about her work championing the cause of women and girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). She's the co-founder of Stemettes, an organization working to get more girls and women into STEM careers by starting them early: If girls are encouraged to love and pursue science and math, it will pay off down the road.

Even as she received honors and invitations to speak, Imafidon came to realize that being a woman in tech was much more of an anomaly than it should be. She co-founded Stemettes (originally the Stemettes Project) in 2013, and the organization has already helped increase the number of girls taking STEM subjects and GCSE exams.

Imafidon discusses her organization, as well as why so few girls are pursuing STEM subjects—and why even fewer women stay in STEM careers. From stereotyping and culture to scheduling conflicts and internal biases, the deck can seem stacked against girls who want to pursue STEM subects. However, the benefits to doing so—for both girls and a world that needs educated girls—are too important to ignore.

Find out much more about Stemettes and Imafidon's insights in the article, excerpted here and in full at the link.

ibtimes.co.uk - If there was ever someone to inspire girls into science, Anne-Marie Imafidon is the woman for the job. Imafidon is the co-founder of Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise encouraging girls into the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths, and she has an intimidating CV.

Having passed GCSEs in maths and ICT aged 10, she holds the current world record for the youngest girl ever to pass an A level in computing – she was 11. Two years later, she received a scholarship to study maths at a top US university. Imafidon then went on to become one of the youngest to be awarded a Masters degree in maths and computer science at Oxford.

Yet despite the incredible successes of the likes of Imafidon, women are still chronically underrepresented in the STEM workforce. The problem starts young: more boys take science subjects at school, and studies have shown the girls who do take them, and so often excel, lack the confidence to pursue the high-paid STEM careers. Too many talented young scientists, technicians, engineers and mathematicians are walking away from exciting, rewarding and well-paid jobs.

"I graduated, worked for two years and then it was only when I was sent to speak at a conference in the US that it hit me – I was a woman in tech," Imafidon tells IBTimes UK on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Read the rest here.