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Women occupy only 23% of ICT Jobs in the Tech Industry
AmIT
August 11, 2023
AmIT

Women Representation in IT

Women in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector only occupy 23% of the tech jobs in South Africa (SA), according to Women In Tech ZA. This is a multi-layered challenge that requires assistance from education sectors as well as businesses.

However, South Africa is not alone, this is a global challenge. The global average for women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) careers is 30%. In Sub-Saharan Africa this drops to 28% as reported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

A contributor to the under representation of women in IT is the gender gap in STEM skills development which is felt already at school level and carried throughout the lives of girls and women. Fortunately the 'Future is Female'. That is that we hope that efforts of the present will ignite passion, interest and opportunities for females in the STEM industries.

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Creating Opportunities for Women in IT

Globalization, technological development and the breakdown of social constructs continue to impact our lives and the societal roles played by men and women. Resultingly, in the gender gap in these spheres are slowly decreasing. However, many young girls still internalize the harmful belief that women are not strong enough in STEM fields as men. The lack of female representation and diversity in the ICT Sectors only further perpetuate this belief. Fortunately, more organisations are taking up the flame to rally against this cause. Organisations partnering in support for more Women in Tech, include the SheCodes Foundation. The SheCodes Foundation provides South African women with a platform to learn coding skills at no cost with the hope to elevate SA women in the tech space.

On the broader African front, there is WAAW (Working to Advance Science and Technology Education for African Women) Foundation. WAAW is an international non-profit organization based in Nigeria founded in 2007 by Dr. Unoma Okorafor. Through this organisation the initiative She Hacks Africa Coding Bootcamp was started as a platform for Africa's youth to learn software development, leadership and entrepreneurship.

On the global front, tech Influencer Kimberley Brynt, founded the Black Girls CODE that focuses on providing education and skills in the tech industry for the African American youth. Providing skills in coding, website development, robotics and mobile application building.

More opportunities are emerging for females in tech driven industry from strong female roles and foundations providing coding education, participating in outreach and awareness activities and showcases the diverse and talented women in the ICT Sector. These opportunities often take a hybrid (in-person & online) or online training and education approach which has only increased since Covid-19. Online education platforms brake down barriers to learning often making it more accessible, equitable and affordable. These education platforms have paved the way in helping underrepresented individuals elevate their skills in STEM sectors.

Leading tech companies like SAP have also played their part in providing tech learning and certification. Among their SAP Training and Certification programmes, SAP has also sphere headed openSAP which is a free knowledge platform for SAP courses, podcasts and mircolearning content. While openSAP focuses on specific topics within the SAP realm, SAP has also partnered with Coursera, one of the world’s largest online learning providers. This partnership is aimed at providing a SAP Technology Consultant Professional Certificate in a 7 course series to launch a SAP consulting career. that is designed for students of all backgrounds. Through SAP's digital skills initiative, their main aim is to empower everyone to build new skills and ultimately start a career in the SAP ecosystem.

Online Courses

If you are interested in programming below is a list of online platforms that offer a variety of free and low-cost courses

Open SAP

  • A SAP Free learning platform for all. Providing users with knowledge sharing content for SAPs latest innovations.
  • Through a blend of courses, microlearning and podcast, users can consume knowledge content and interact with experts and peers.
  • https://open.sap.com/pages/about

Udemy
  • Udemy offers courses online for learning and teaching designed to enhance a particular skill.
  • Udemy offers a wide variety of courses within the IT sphere from various coding languages, SAP content, machine learning and robotics.
  • https://www.udemy.com/

CodeCademy

  • A online interactive platform that offers a variety of free coding language offerings such as java, SQL, Python and more.
  • They also offer a range of subjects in Web development, Cybersecurity, Game Development and more.
  • https://www.codecademy.com

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Sources:  

  • Top Women Awards Conference Publication. 2023. Making the tech industry in South Africa female-friendly. Available: https://www.topbusinesswomen.co.za/making-the-tech-industry-in-south-africa-female-friendly/#:~:text=According%20to%20Women%20In%20Tech,ICT%20roles%20in%20the%20country
  • SheCodes Foundation. 2023. The SheCodes Foundation supports 🇿🇦 South African Women. Available: https://www.shecodesfoundation.org/south-africa
  • The Sun Voice of the Nation. 2019. WAAW foundation empowers 200 youths on computer programming. Available: https://sunnewsonline.com/waaw-foundation-empowers-200-youths-on-computer-programming/
  • Open Page Africa. 2020. Etisalat Nigeria, WAAW Foundation Reward School Girls For Innovation. Available: https://onepageafrica.com/2013/08/24/etisalat-nigeria-waaw-foundation-reward/
  • She Hacks Africa. About. Available:https://shehacksafrica.org/index.php/about-2/
  • Black Girls Code. About Us. Available: https://wearebgc.org/about-us/
  • openSAP. 2023. Open online courses by SAP. Available: https://open.sap.com/
  • Max Wessel. 2022. SAP Pledges to Equip Underrepresented Groups with Digital Skills, Announces Partnership with Coursera to Reach Millions of Learners Worldwide. Available: https://news.sap.com/2022/11/sap-coursera-partnership-digital-skills-underrepresented-groups/
  • Phil Albinus. 2022. SAP delivers free upskilling, aims to up underrepresented in tech jobs. Available: jobs https://hrexecutive.com/sap-delivers-free-upskilling-aims-to-up-underrepresented-in-tech-jobs/
  • Udemy. 2023. About Us. Available: https://about.udemy.com/?locale=en-us
  • codecademy. 2023. About. Available: https://www.codecademy.com/about