STEM Pipeline for girls

STEM PIPELINE
FOR GIRLS

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Women have made significant progress in many key academic disciplines such as medicine, law, finance, business, management, humanities and social sciences.

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Women have made significant progress in many key academic disciplines such as medicine, law, finance, business, management, humanities and social sciences. However, in the STEM field, girls are behind in both interest and enrolment. Currently in South Africa, in terms of new university graduates, only 13% of STEM graduates are women. Of the 96 Motsepe Foundation scholarship recipients who recently graduated, only 21 girls (22%) graduated with STEM-related degrees.

Women have made significant progress in many key academic disciplines such as medicine, law, finance, business, management, humanities and social sciences. However, in the STEM field, girls are behind in both interest and enrolment. Currently in South Africa, in terms of new university graduates, only 13% of STEM graduates are women. Of the 96 Motsepe Foundation scholarship recipients who recently graduated (in 2018), only 21 girls (22%) graduated with STEM-related degrees.

Proficiency in STEM subjects is a prerequisite for closing the gender gap going forward. As the Honourable Minister of Women in the Presidency, MP Susan Shabangu, recently pointed out, by the year 2020, 80% of all future jobs will require a STEM education.

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Recognising that supporting girls and women in STEM is one of the most central pillars for Africa’s equitable sustainable future

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Against this backdrop, the Foundation will work with primary and secondary anchor schools in order to:

  • Spark interest in STEM subjects by introducing mathematics from Primary School level;
  • Inspire girls to consider STEM careers;
  • Increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM; and
  • Attract girls into STEM fields and ensure they progress in these fields.