Who runs the world....uhhhh girls?

In agreement with The Harvard Business Review, gender equality is not a women’s issue; rather, it is a political, economic and social opportunity, a business challenge that more than 75% of corporate CEOs, globally, place on their agenda of top 10 issues.

Melinda Gates is creating a ‘personal office’ to bring more women into tech. She does this to address research reflecting that the ‘leaky pipeline’ starts at school level with the biggest drop being at 13-17 years of age with the trend continuing through to university where we are graduating fewer women technologists. Gates indicates that 37% of computer science degrees went to women in the 1980’s and it’s now down to 18%.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Connected Women research concludes that there are roughly 200 million fewer women online than men in developing countries. Why are we regressing? And yet, the McKinsey Women Matter Africa 2016 report indicates that companies with more senior women are more profitable, by as much as 20%, compared to their counterparts who are not as gender diverse. So why are certain CEO’s not driving gender- equity goals for the institutions that they lead?

In my own industry, ICT, technology companies have been criticized for their slow process in employing more women and underrepresented groups, and the response is always that they simply can't find qualified women or workers to hire. We need to collectively change this narrative by addressing the identified issues that prevent girls, at the foundation phase, from being attracted to the ICT space and once in that space we must create an environment that fosters their growth and development to keep them there.

Experts suggest that we need more role models, sponsors and mentors at schools, universities and the workplace that we relate to. We therefore salute advocacy groups like Girlcodeza, I Am the CODE, Women in Engineering and many others who work hard to sponsor, mentor, encourage, educate, and equip girls especially those from rural areas for 21st century jobs and jobs of the future.

I have noticed that girls and women are increasingly preparing themselves with the skillsets necessary to succeed in a digital economy. Initiatives like Cisco’s global flagship Networking Academy program that prepares youth for the jobs of tomorrow must be widely communicated, adapted to government priorities, and scaled to address the needs of citizens to ensure maximum impact. Of the 8 510 people that Cisco trained from our Networking Academy in FY16 in South Africa, 31% were female, and 90% of them entered the job market.

Companies must continue to explore and implement more holistic public-private partnerships that address the ‘leaky talent pipeline’ from basic education through to university. A cradle to economic participation approach is required supported by an ecosystem of stakeholders to truly prepare our youth especially our young women for future work employment.

Research shows that in countries where legislative or voluntary targets are in place, representation of women in key roles is higher and whilst regulation assists, it seems that this is not enough. There is merit to the Mckinsey Women Matter Africa research that if things are to change - really change - organizations need to commit to transforming the way they think and act about gender equality, a coordinated corporate effort is required to promote gender diversity. Harvard Business Review says research shows that gender balance happens in companies only if it is personally and forcefully led by the CEO, there must be visible commitment from the top to diversity with sustained action throughout the organisation.

A fact based transformation strategy is required with strong CEO, EXCO and Board support that steers clear of emotive and anecdotal reasoning. Bold collaborative efforts will reduce the shocking 2095 timeline predicted by the ITU to achieve gender parity and ensure that girls and women are not left behind whilst ICT is forecast to re-imagine the future.