AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
Women & Tech: a winning combination By Dounia Ben Mohamed
Although only 21.9% of women in Africa are connected, compared to 28.9% of men, their use of the Internet is being put to good use. Better still, they are transforming the continent through the solutions they implement. If Africa does not want to miss the turn of the 4th industrial revolution, that of artificial intelligence, it will have to rely on women and encourage digital inclusion.
Rush to STEM fields
With the rush of girls into STEM fields, the presence of women in the technology industry is expected to grow-credit photo Global Partnership of education-RR
Already the continent of female entrepreneurship - with the highest rate of female entrepreneurs in the world, 27% - Africa is on its way to becoming the continent of the women’s revolution 4.0? Despite the major inequalities still existent between women and men, the continent’s women entrepreneurs have very quickly seized the opportunities offered to them by digital technology, precisely in order to overcome the discrimination they are still subject to. In all areas - employment, education, health, governance - they operate and innovate through solutions that respond to local problems. Their role, already recognised as a driving force for sustainable development, is thus multiplied.
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Continent of female entrepreneurship, Africa has the highest rate of women entrepreneurs in the world, 27% -credit photo SME South Africa- RR Even if there are still many obstacles - access to digital tools and skills, to funding - in this rapidly and constantly evolving market, African women in the technology sector benefit from unprecedented representation. According to the ITU (International Telecommunication Union), in Africa, 18.6% of women have access to the Internet compared to 24.9% of men. Although the number of Internet users is growing steadily (+20% per year), the gender digital divide is still very much present.
Although women currently account for only 30% of the technology industry in Africa, their rush into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, encouraged by a number of initiatives, suggests that in a booming digital sector, women will play an increasingly important role. And in a big way.
