Experts: Digital Access Will Make STEM-related Fields Attractive to Girls

Uchechukwu Nnaike

Experts in the education sector have identified access to digital tools and resources as key to encouraging young girls to take more interest in STEM-related fields.
This was the summary of the conversations during the March edition of EdTech Mondays, an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation, in partnership with Co-Creation Hub.
The virtual roundtable moderated by Joyce Daniel, a social engineering practitioner, featured experts in the education and technology space, including Ada Nduka Oyom, the Founder of She Code Africa; Dr. Adefunke Ekine, the Deputy Director, Research and External Linkages, Tai Solarin University of Education and Judith Okonkwo, a technology evangelist and the founder of Imisi 3D.
Speaking at the roundtable with the theme ‘Celebrating African Women in Education and Technology,’ Ekine stated that the low number of young girls in engineering and technology-related fields was due to the challenge of direct access to digital tools and resources.
She noted that the problem was aggravated by the abysmal teaching of foundational subjects such as Mathematics.​
In her remarks, Oyom, an advocate of female representation in STEM education, while citing examples of the success stories of She Code Africa on STEM education, stressed the need for stakeholders to make resources and tools available and expose young girls to other opportunities.
Also speaking, Okonkwo stated that the global aspiration for gender parity was realisable if stakeholders focused on providing immediate access to the girl-child regardless of social status.
She urged women in the technology space to remain focused regardless of the challenges they may be going through, as success awaits them in their chosen careers.