WOMEN IN TECH BY JESSIE TAYLOR
TRANSFORMING THE TECH SPACE
Increasing female participation in STEM fields
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n South Africa, women currently account for only 23% of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals working in South Africa. And only 17% of those fill leadership positions. Changing this will not only result in far-reaching social benefits; it will also see companies making more profit and unlocking new markets. GENDER DISPARITY There remains an income gap between men and women. In South Africa, only eight women are employed or actively looking for work for every ten men. This is despite women making up more than half of the working-age population. Of those women who are working, they earn 60 cents for each rand earned by men – which, alarmingly, is higher than the global average. South African women in the STEM workforce earn around 28% less than their male colleagues. This requires them to work two and a half more hours a day to earn the same monthly salary. But reducing gender inequality can have big payoffs for companies. Closing the pay gap in developing countries could increase women’s earnings by more than 23%, or $2-trillion. In South Africa, if the gender gap closed by just 10%, there could be economic growth of around 3.2% in GDP, according to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers. If women’s employment increased by 10%, the unemployment rate could decrease by as much as 6.5%.
36 | Public Sector Leaders | November 2021
