Igniting a path for women to thrive in STEM careers

Overview

Today's complexities require us to inspire, guide, motivate and facilitate innovation and bring new and diverse perspectives beyond what has been established. At PwC, we believe we are responsible for the growth and development of our continent, as reflected in our global goals of building trust in society and solving important problems.

Our global strategy, The New Equation, focuses on two interconnected needs that organisations face in the coming years: building trust across a wide range of areas that are important to stakeholders, and delivering sustained outcomes in an environment where the risk of disruption is more intense than ever before. Doing business in this fractured world is not easy, and finding the right organisations to partner with is vital for organisations to thrive. The synergy between UNICEF, TechnoGirl Trust, and PwC is evident. We are all bound by common values and a strong sense of purpose.

What can we do to ensure that future generations are ready?

A solid grounding in STEM skills

The role of technology in our daily lives is growing, but for now, technology needs humans to build it, program it, understand it, and repair it. Software developers create innovative apps and AI developers create, improve, and fix it when it malfunctions, but one thing is certain: those with a good science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education will have a significant advantage in finding jobs and will probably be able to find them more easily and have a higher salary.

Bridging the gender gap:

In South Africa, not more than 13% of women choose to study in the STEM disciplines and globally, not more than 30% and this is where we need to start with closing the gap between males and females in the STEM disciplines. Women should be educated about STEM careers and their impact on the world. We also need to expose them to women who are thriving in these fields, while making career opportunities available to them.

Closing the skills gap:

The rise of automation and new technologies has increased productivity, but it has also created a major societal problem: the stark mismatch of skilled people for available jobs at the heart of our economy. As technology continues to evolve rapidly, the skills required to succeed in the workforce are also changing. Some skills that are likely to be in high demand in the near future include: artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), data analysis and design thinking.

Call to action:

Women should be given equal opportunities to pursue and thrive in STEM careers to help reduce the gender pay gap. This will also help enhance women’s economic security, ensure a diverse and talented STEM workforce, and prevent biases in these fields and the products and services they produce.

PwC in collaboration with UNICEF and Generation Unlimited, is proud to contribute to growth initiatives such as TechnoGirl and to honour our values - which are to act with integrity, make a difference, care, work together and reimagine the possible.

Download publication here Igniting a path for women to thrive in STEM careers

Today's complexities require us to inspire, guide, motivate and facilitate innovation and bring new and diverse perspectives beyond what has been established.