By Nhu Tran Le Thanh
Have you ever had that moment when you are saying something to your smartphone, but it doesn’t catch it or worse, misinterprets it? Well, it’s not you – it’s your phone, or, more precisely, the lack of women in technology that is to blame. Seems a bit far-fetched? Not really. There’s documented evidence to support this.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, when voice recognition technology was at a nascent stage of development, a significant oversight occurred due to a lack of gender diversity in the design and testing phases. The predominantly male teams working on voice recognition systems did not adequately consider the variations in pitch and frequency of female voices. As a result, many early voice recognition systems struggled to accurately understand and respond to female voices. Throw in a South Asian accent and pretty soon, your car’s navigation system is driving you confidently out to the middle of the ocean when all you wanted was a cup of coffee.
This particular example highlights the importance of gender diversity and representation in the design and development of significant technologies. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, women represent only 28% of Engineering graduates globally. This statistic is particularly telling as studies have shown that girls often have an equal interest in STEM subjects during their early years, but then steadily decline through the school years for girls. Fostering an interest in STEM is not just about preparing young girls for a career in particular professions. It contributes significantly in other ways as well.
Cultivation of critical thinking
STEM education provides an excellent opportunity for young children to develop their critical thinking skills. By encouraging exploration, experimentation and innovative ideation, STEM equips children with the necessary tools at a young age that enable them to analyse, evaluate, and solve problems independently. As a result, cultivating critical thinking skills at an early age can have a significant impact on a child’s future academic and professional success.
Building confidence and self-esteem
Developing and nurturing confidence and self-esteem is crucial for our overall health and well-being. When children, particularly young girls, set and reach attainable goals in fields like science and technology, it boosts their confidence and reinforces their belief in their natural abilities. The confidence gained from this experience helps build resilience when faced with future challenges.
Building on leadership and teamwork
STEM projects demonstrate the power of collaboration in problem-solving. By bringing together individuals from different backgrounds and experiences, we can use a multi-disciplinary approach to tackle complex issues. In today’s dynamic and interconnected world, the value of teamwork and collaboration cannot be overstated.
While everyone talks about America’s moon landing in 1969, and every child could probably tell you the names of the first men on the moon, not many would know about Margaret Hamilton. She was the scientist who led NASA’s team of software engineers that developed the onboard flight software, with no reported bugs for any of the Apollo missions! When I was younger, I was hard-pressed to find many female role models in STEM that I could look up to, and I can tell you, it would have made a huge difference in my confidence in the early years of my career if I had seen more women leaders and mentors.
Breaking gender stereotypes
Early exposure to STEM education is crucial to ensure that both boys and girls are exposed to a diverse range of activities and subjects. This helps challenge the stereotype that one gender is better suited to a particular field. In addition, it is important to create inclusive workplaces that have diverse representation, which will help retain women in STEM fields. According to the recent All India Survey on Higher Education, almost 45% of those enrolling in STEM fields were women. However, women only make up 14% of all scientists, engineers, and technologists in India. The situation is similar in my country, Vietnam, where only 9% of all patent applicants are women. These fields will play a significant role in the jobs of the future, which means that the most high-paying jobs in these fields are often taken up by men.
Without more women, without representation from diverse backgrounds, we will always have a world that will develop technology and products that are designed with just half of the world’s population in mind. For example, Google’s speech recognition software, which, according to research published by the NAACL, indicates that it is 13% more accurate for men than women. Or how a 2018 paper presented by MIT showed that 3 separate facial recognition software programs showed an accuracy of over 97% for male, white faces, while the error rate ballooned to 34% for darker-skinned women.
While there is still a long way to go until we achieve gender parity, by breaking down societal barriers and stereotypes that have traditionally deterred girls from pursuing STEM fields, we are paving the way for a more inclusive and diverse future. Encouraging girls to pursue their passions in these areas will not only benefit them individually but will also contribute to closing the gender gap within STEM industries.
The author is the co-founder of LingoCHAMPS by BrightCHAMPS.