Technology

Digital gender gap hurting Kenya’s economic growth

gender

For girls to be motivated to pursue technology courses up to the highest possible levels, their parents should be made aware of potential opportunities and benefits. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Mary Muthoni is a playful five-year--old girl who gets thrilled whenever she interacts with technological devices in the house.

She loves learning computer games, playing with mobile robotic dolls and scrolling images on her mum’s mobile phone.

Her parents hope to nurture this passion and enable her to pursue an information, communication and technology (ICT) career in future.

But the road will not be smooth for little Muthoni. She will need to overcome looming challenges that impede the full inclusion of girls and women into the science and technology field. Despite being lauded for its vibrant and dynamic technology scene, Kenya still grapples with gender disparities in the field.

Technocrats define this ‘‘disease’’ as the digital gender gap, which refers to an inequality between men and women with regards to access and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Kenya is still in the severe stage of this disease as it lags behind in terms of efforts made to close this divide.

Indeed, a recent report launched by the World Wide Web Foundation and the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) gave the country a dismal score of 30 per cent.

Houlin Zhao, secretary- general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), noted that closing the digital gender gap — which seems to be widening globally — is not just a moral imperative but a significant opportunity for growth in today’s digital economy.

It is for this reason that the United Nations has made gender equitable access to ICTs a central pillar to the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Experts warn that the wide digital gender gap in Kenya is jeopardising the country’s chances of improving and growing its economy.

“There’s no shortcut. If you want to develop fast as a country, no one should be left behind. Both men and women should be active players in the ICT field,” Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Co-ordinator for Kenya told the Business Daily.

Ms Constantine Obuya, director of the African Centre for Women in Technology (Acwict), stated that girls need to be encouraged to take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects as they are important for those keen on pursuing careers in the ICT field.

In most environments, girls are usually socialised to embrace humanities and view STEM subjects as ‘‘hard’’ courses which can only be studied by men.

These false perceptions, she said, are also rife in the job market where men are still more likely to benefit from challenging ICT jobs compared to women even if they have the same qualifications.

“This mind set needs to change. Both men and women have the ability to excel in the technology field. So opportunities should be provided equitably to both sexes.”

Dorothy Ooko, Google communications manager for East and Francophone Africa, said that mentorship is important as it enables girls interested in technology to learn more about the profession from women who are already in that field.

Through the Women Techmakers initiative on YouTube, she noted that Google provides a platform for global women leaders in technology to share their experiences and mentor upcoming generations.

“We hope such initiatives will inspire more women to come on board and join other women leaders in creating technology.”

Marginalised People

Google has also been providing funding to organisations that provide girls and unrepresented students with extra-curricular computer science programmes through the RISE Awards.

But for girls to feel motivated to pursue technology courses up to the highest possible levels, Mr Chatterjee said that both girls and their parents should be made aware of potential opportunities and benefits in the sector.

The ITU has estimated that there will be a significant shortfall of skilled people to take up ICT jobs in the coming years.

With digital technologies now pervading every business sector, the organisation noted that girls and young women who learn coding, apps development and computer science will have a significant advantage over their peers.

While baby Muthoni’s parents can afford to buy and expose their little one to a myriad of digital technologies, not many children are that lucky.

“If a girl has never been exposed to a computer and doesn’t even know about the Internet, then chances that she will develop an interest in technology are low,” said Ms Obuya.

To curb this problem she stated that Acwict has been providing computers and skills training programmes to women in impoverished and marginalised communities in different parts of the country at no cost.

“But access to technology alone is not enough. We need girls and women to interact with these digital devices and become active users,” Ms Obuya said.

2015 GSMA report found a significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership in low and middle income countries like Kenya.

It noted that in instances where both sexes had phones, women were less likely to use the Internet and engage with other digital features compared to men.

They just stuck to text messaging and call services.

Major reasons for this gap included cost, cultural barriers, as well as online gender based violence.

The report noted that closing this usage and ownership gap could unlock an estimated $170 billion (Sh17.5 trillion) market opportunity for the mobile industry from 2015 to 2020 in low and middle income countries.