{"id":87651,"date":"2017-02-19T10:47:40","date_gmt":"2017-02-19T08:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/africa-must-bust-the-myth-that-girls-arent-good-at-maths-and-science-the-conversation\/"},"modified":"2017-02-19T10:47:40","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T08:47:40","slug":"africa-must-bust-the-myth-that-girls-arent-good-at-maths-and-science-the-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/africa-must-bust-the-myth-that-girls-arent-good-at-maths-and-science-the-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa must bust the myth that girls aren’t good at maths and science | The Conversation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa must bust the myth that girls aren’t good at maths and science<\/a>: <\/p>\n

It's often self-doubt and gender stereotyping that holds girls back from pursuing science careers.<\/span> Reuters\/Corinne Dufka<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Children\u2019s ideas about what their gender means for their intellectual capacity are formed before they have even turned six. One idea that\u2019s particularly pervasive and dangerous is that, only boys are good at maths and science.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s programmes also rarely feature women doing anything scientific.<\/p>\n

These early stereotypes may lead to young girls developing a \u201cfear\u201d 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. <\/p>\n

In South Africa, where I live and work, the problem is worsened by the country\u2019s apartheid history. Today, black women are still struggling to access scientific careers at all. Those who do may fall victim to the \u201cleaky pipeline\u201d syndrome: they start degrees in science, but don\u2019t continue to postgraduate level or go on to work in STEM fields. There are many reasons for this, including gender bias. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a complex problem. So, how can it be tackled? For starters, there should be a concerted effort to raise girls in a way that encourages them to ignore stereotypical norms. The country\u2019s basic education system also needs massive improvement when it comes to teaching maths and science so that they become attractive subject choices for more pupils. <\/p>\n

But it will also require funding for bursaries, improved science communication and, linked to this, boosting scientists\u2019 visibility so that young people \u2013 and especially girls \u2013 realise that they, too, could become scientists. Interventions with just this aim have been successful elsewhere in the world, and there\u2019s no reason they can\u2019t work in Africa too.<\/p>\n

History and the present<\/h2>\n

There have been some positive steps towards getting more young people, particularly women, involved in studying STEM subjects. <\/p>\n

In recent years, South Africa has unveiled a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes to encourage women to enrol for STEM subjects. For example, black women held the largest share of National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary support in 2016 overall. In the areas of engineering and computer sciences, NRF funding was increased more for women though men still get the lion\u2019s share of funding in these important subjects. The funders are trying, but because of the leaky pipeline, among other factors, there aren\u2019t always women to take up these opportunities. <\/p>\n

So while money is important, it\u2019s not enough. Retention levels are low. <\/p>\n

Almost equal numbers of males to females are entering undergraduate science based degrees. At the postgraduate levels, though, the number of men is higher in many science based degrees, suggesting that their female peers have left the system.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a uniquely South African problem, but what drives it is different \u2013 the fact that apartheid, for the most part, kept black people out of universities. <\/p>\n

As elsewhere, patriarchy is a common global factor in holding girls (and especially black girls) back. In many cultures, women are expected to be subservient to \u201cshow respect\u201d for men and the idea that a \u201cwoman\u2019s place is in the kitchen\u201d persists. <\/p>\n

\"\"
Gender imbalances in STEM subjects and careers are a global phenomenon.<\/span> UNESCO Science Report, Towards 2030<\/span><\/span> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s another issue at play: young people in Africa very rarely know any scientists. They don\u2019t see scientists at work, learn about local scientists in school or, often, understand what it is that scientists do. The role of scientists is still a mystery to many even though there have been a number of great initiatives, both global and regional, to improve science communication and engagement.<\/p>\n

To fix this problem more science communication and public engagement of society in science is needed. <\/p>\n

Possible solutions<\/h2>\n

All media, whether it\u2019s print, radio, television or social platforms, should be geared towards breaking stereotypes linked to science and technology. With clever campaigns, girls will realise that they can become scientists and work in technology and innovation environments \u2013 and thrive.<\/p>\n

The lack of role models is often a resounding theme for young women entering STEM careers. STEM-based content, whether it\u2019s on TV fiction series or contained in non-fictional journalistic articles, is urgently needed. This can be developed to reach all South Africans, ideally through the SA Broadcasting Corporation\u2019s radio and TV channels because these have incredible reach and represent all 11 of the country\u2019s official languages.<\/p>\n

Mentorship is another possible approach. Research has shown just how valuable it is for women in STEM to work with mentors. Doing so increases their access to role models, helps them to acquire and refine career development skills, allows them to set goals more effectively and provides a supportive network. All of this wards off women\u2019s feelings of being isolated and under represented in their STEM fields. <\/p>\n

A word of caution, though: individuals shouldn\u2019t feel forced into mentorship. It must be a matter of personal choice. If universities offer mandatory mentorship programmes, these might do more harm than good by suggesting that women need more help than men to succeed.<\/p>\n

Finally, society needs more messages that counter stereotypes. Schools, for instance, could teach pupils about the important contributions made by women scientists, especially those in Africa, in all fields. This would improve the visibility of women in STEM \u2013 a good way to start untangling age-old stereotypes so that Africa\u2019s future women in science don\u2019t remain forever hidden.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

Nox Makunga receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF), Stellenbosch University's Division of Research Development and the Technology Innovation Agency. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> The Conversation \u2013 Articles (AFRICA)<\/a><\/small>
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Africa must bust the myth that girls aren’t good at maths and science: It's often self-doubt and gender stereotyping that holds girls back from pursuing science careers. Reuters\/Corinne Dufka Children\u2019s ideas about what their gender means for their intellectual capacity are formed before they have even turned six. One idea that\u2019s particularly pervasive and dangerous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[428,9045,4103,8890,2010,4748,3396,2211,13767,2011],"class_list":{"0":"post-87651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africa","8":"tag-arent","9":"tag-bust","10":"tag-conversation","11":"tag-girls","12":"tag-good","13":"tag-maths","14":"tag-must","15":"tag-myth","16":"tag-science","17":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}