The disparity between the number of women and men in the field of technology is stark. In 2017 just 26 percent of professional computing globally jobs were held by women.
This has been attributed to the fact women are usually slower to adopt new innovations than men. This, analysts say, has a knock-on effects as almost all sectors of the economy and careers, particularly Science-based ones, ride on new technological trends.
Careers such as engineering, aviation and construction thrive on cutting-edge technologies, and women risk being sidelined by waves of disruptions if they do not acquire the necessary skills.
In the aviation sector, this trend is already being witnessed. Statistics from the sector as per June 2019, shows that the number of women pilots has been on a downward trajectory. Figures from January 2019, shows that the number of registered female pilots stands at 717 in comparison to 6135 from male. By June 2019, the number of registered female pilots had significantly dropped to 551 from 717. Moreover, the data show that the number of female aircraft maintenance engineers stood at 28 compared to 776 men as at January 2019.
According to the Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK) 2019 statistic, the number of female registered consulting engineers is 11 compared to that of male, which is 386.
The construction sector is also highly dominated by men. According to the National Construction Authority (NCA) 71 percent of construction companies in Kenya are owned by men, 21 percent have joint ownership of both men and women and only 7percent are women owned.
Analysts say there is need to incorporate women in these fields by equipping them with the necessary technological skills.
iBuild, an online construction firm, says however, the situation is changing . When it launched in Kenya in February 2019, the firm says it has witnessed a significant rise of women joining their platform. And today, the company has more women in the business than men. The heads of departments are 90 percent women all of whom are tech-savvy. Twent percent of the construction workers registered on the platform are women.
iBuild is an Uber-like app for the housing and construction industry. It connects households to builders and suppliers, allowing them to compare quality and price as well as to apply for loans.
“More female experts in the construction industry are now joining the platform. There is need to encourage women to embrace innovations in all sectors of the economy so that they are not left behind,” says Dina Anekeya, an agent trainer at iBuild.
According to Noreen Ajiambo, the home owners’ team lead at IBuild, there are more women than men in Kenya and job opportunities needto reflect this.
“Everyone deserves an equal opportunity and women in the digital and construction space are really doing a good job,” Ms Ajiambo told Digital while supervising a group of women at a construction site at Kahawa Sukari.
Contractors can post jobs on iBuild platfrom for free. There are thousand of workers on the platform with registered skill sets, enabling contractors tot recruit from the comfort of their mobile phones.
Early this year, in a statement, the Institution of Engineers of Kenya Women Engineers Chapter (IEK WEC) said to achieve its development goals, including Vision 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals, there is need to address gender parity across all sectors of the economy.
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