THE BARRIERS THAT LIMIT AFRICAN WOMEN FROM ENTERING THE TECH SPACE
All over the world, several sectors have had an underrepresentation of women. It is particularly difficult to talk about the underrepresentation of women in any sector without mentioning the tech space
Barriers
The barriers that women have been known to face, that limits them from making the career choice to be in tech manifests in several forms and situations. A few of such ways by which some of these barriers can be formed and identified are mentioned below:
- This can be recognized in how the the education systems are structured, and how girls are told they are not good at math or science and encouraged to venture more into the social sciences
- It is reflected in girls being complimented for being pretty whilst boys are complimented on their actions [According to UNESCO, women account for a mere 28% of those pursuing STEM careers in Sub-Saharan Africa, below the global average of 30%.]
- The inability of tech entrepreneurs to get commensurate funding for their startups. While female business owners have been seen to be having a breakthrough in recent years with regards to funding, the gender funding gap is far from being bridged. According to Forbes, as of March 2020, theres still a $189 billion gender gap in startup funding.
- It’s reflected in women leaving the industry because of the toxic environments they are asked to work in. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the overall female labor-force participation rate has reached 61%, yet women constitute only 30% of professionals in the tech industry.
- There’s also been the phenomenon known as the “glass cliff” which basically suggests that women are mostly only given a promotion when things are going badly within organizations. Essentially, women are given portions as a last resort, with said positions being designed for them to fail.
SOLUTIONS
To find solutions that eliminate the barriers that serve as limitations for African women’s ability to enter the tech space, we must be clearly able to articulate the problem and that’s starts with research and hard data on what the problem is.
There is a lot of surface level research and not enough deep dives into the space. We need to fund more research in the tech/STEM areas, equip grassroots organizations to collect ad aggregate data. When this is done, we must take that data and begin to iterate and take an experimental approach to problem solving
As a response for the underrepresentation of women in the tech space, an unfortunate result is that women in tech in the entrepreneurship space are over accelerated and underfunded. An estimated $42 billion financing gap for African women across business value chains. What we need to do is mint more women angel investors (by paying women their dues),VC’s and institutional fund of women led venture capital.
There are also three ways to bridge the gap between women who have access to digital technologies and those who do not. They are:
Starting with having at the core internet[Africa has the lowest number of Internet connections—only 22 percent of the continent has access.], phone/computer
Accessibility gap: This means bridging the gap that encompasses access to mordern technology, the technical ability to utilize available technology, along with access (or lack of access) to the Internet.
Affordability gap : Even as technology becomes more affordable and internet access seems increasingly ubiquitous, a “digital divide” between rich and poor remains. In low- and middle- income countries, 1GB of data costs over 5% of what people earn per month whereas “affordable internet” should cost 2% or less of the monthly income. This will go a long way in encouraging women t take an interest in the tech space.
HOW DO WE KEEP GIRLS IN SCHOOL
On making sure that more girls complete their education, some of the things that could be done include the following:
- Training teachers on gender sensitivity
- Free education programs
- Sex education and structures to enable girls who get pregnant to return to school
Ultimately, it is undeniable that there are real barriers that deter African women from making a career choice of being in the tech space, and working towards thriving in the space. It is important that deliberate steps are taken in order to eliminate these barriers.
THE BARRIERS THAT LIMIT AFRICAN WOMEN FROM ENTERING THE TECH SPACE
All over the world, several sectors have had an underrepresentation of women. It is particularly difficult to talk about the underrepresentation of women in any sector without mentioning the tech space.
Barriers
The barriers that women have been known to face, that limits them from making the career choice to be in tech manifests in several forms and situations. A few of such ways by which some of these barriers can be formed and identified are mentioned below:
- This can be recognized in how the the education systems are structured, and how girls are told they are not good at math or science and encouraged to venture more into the social sciences
- It is reflected in girls being complimented for being pretty whilst boys are complimented on their actions [According to UNESCO, women account for a mere 28% of those pursuing STEM careers in Sub-Saharan Africa, below the global average of 30%.]
- The inability of tech entrepreneurs to get commensurate funding for their startups. While female business owners have been seen to be having a breakthrough in recent years with regards to funding, the gender funding gap is far from being bridged. According to Forbes, as of March 2020, theres still a $189 billion gender gap in startup funding.
- It’s reflected in women leaving the industry because of the toxic environments they are asked to work in. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the overall female labor-force participation rate has reached 61%, yet women constitute only 30% of professionals in the tech industry.
- There’s also been the phenomenon known as the “glass cliff” which basically suggests that women are mostly only given a promotion when things are going badly within organizations. Essentially, women are given portions as a last resort, with said positions being designed for them to fail.
SOLUTIONS
To find solutions that eliminate the barriers that serve as limitations for African women’s ability to enter the tech space, we must be clearly able to articulate the problem and that’s starts with research and hard data on what the problem is.
There is a lot of surface level research and not enough deep dives into the space. We need to fund more research in the tech/STEM areas, equip grassroots organizations to collect ad aggregate data. When this is done, we must take that data and begin to iterate and take an experimental approach to problem solving
As a response for the underrepresentation of women in the tech space, an unfortunate result is that women in tech in the entrepreneurship space are over accelerated and underfunded. An estimated $42 billion financing gap for African women across business value chains. What we need to do is mint more women angel investors (by paying women their dues),VC’s and institutional fund of women led venture capital.
There are also three ways to bridge the gap between women who have access to digital technologies and those who do not. They are:
Starting with having at the core internet[Africa has the lowest number of Internet connections—only 22 percent of the continent has access.], phone/computer
Accessibility gap: This means bridging the gap that encompasses access to mordern technology, the technical ability to utilize available technology, along with access (or lack of access) to the Internet.
Affordability gap : Even as technology becomes more affordable and internet access seems increasingly ubiquitous, a “digital divide” between rich and poor remains. In low- and middle- income countries, 1GB of data costs over 5% of what people earn per month whereas “affordable internet” should cost 2% or less of the monthly income. This will go a long way in encouraging women t take an interest in the tech space.
HOW DO WE KEEP GIRLS IN SCHOOL
On making sure that more girls complete their education, some of the things that could be done include the following:
- Training teachers on gender sensitivity
- Free education programs
- Sex education and structures to enable girls who get pregnant to return to school
Ultimately, it is undeniable that there are real barriers that deter African women from making a career choice of being in the tech space, and working towards thriving in the space. It is important that deliberate steps are taken in order to eliminate these barriers.