April 25, 2023

Women in STEM careers are still underrepresented in Latin America

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina
editor:	Ellen Nemitz

Careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, commonly known by the acronym STEM, are still mostly chosen by boys and men. A UNESCO report shows that, even when women achieve higher levels of education than men, they are extremely underrepresented in these fields of study due to a combination of individual, family and social factors. 

On average, in Latin America, only one-third of STEM careers are occupied by girls and women. In advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the participation of women is even lower. 

This 27 April, the UN will bring this global issue affecting girls and women under the spotlight. For 2023, the chosen theme addresses one of the key causes of the problem: the access to digital skills. 

In many Latin American countries, the internet is not available to a significant part of the population, especially in the countryside, as shown by the report by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture: nearly 72 million people living outside of major cities have no connectivity services meeting minimum quality standards. The World Bank adds that, in general, less than half of the population in Latin American and the Caribbean have broadband connectivity. 

In allusion to the recognition of Girls in ICT Day (Information and Communications Technology), the secretary general at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Doreen Bogdan-Martin, encouraged "every young woman and girl to know that the tech world needs" them, despite lack of diversity and inclusivity needed in this industry. Her inspiring words should reach every corner of the world. However, these words will not reach everyone since the online video is only accessible through the internet. 

This is why encouragement for girls and women to pursue careers in STEM must be given in schools from a young age. At the moment, only “5-15 percent of adults in most LAC (Latin American and Caribbean) countries have medium or strong computer and problem‑solving skills in technology‑rich environments," says the World Bank.

In addition, the institution estimates that achieving OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)  levels of connectivity would cost about 0.12 percent  of the region’s annual GDP, less than what is required to close gaps in the transport, energy and other infrastructure sectors.

In order to address the lack of representation, global organisations such as the UN, as well as local NGOs and even national governments, have been developing projects aimed at reversing the insufficient number of female professionals in such crucial fields of study. Some examples of these organisations include the Mexican Niñas STEM Pueden, the Chilean Fundación Ingeniosas, the Argentinian Proyecto SAGA or the Brazilian Meninas Digitais and Meninas na Ciência. 

In a world rapidly being transformed by AI and other digital technologies, governments in Latin America and the Caribbean must adjust the focus of public policies to enable anyone who is interested in STEM - especially girls and women - to contribute. 

Image by National Cancer Institute

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