Reference to the story Why fewer girls are making it to professional ranks,The New Times, November, 6, 2014

Editor, I think that for girls to get interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, we need to take a rigorous look at ourselves to determine what’s required of us as society. It is a known fact that there’s gender imbalance in the uptake of STEM subjects at school, university and beyond.

This is further emphasised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap report where Rwanda is 127th out of 142 countries in regard to female enrolment in tertiary education. But to be clear, this is a problem that is near-universal. I’m confident that girls are as good as (or even better than) boys in these subjects.

So it’s not about girls underachieving once they have opted to specialise, it’s about why they don’t opt for specialist STEM subjects in the first place. It’s about societal opinion, not lack of capacity. Gender stereotyping is the biggest problem here. Students make subject choices at a time when they are developing their identity and self-image.

Equally important is how they relate to the subjects they are studying after understanding who they are. In addressing gender imbalances in subject take-up, we should endeavor to identify and remove any obstacles that hinder their choice of study. The problem lies in the classroom, what is taught, where it is taught and how it is taught; but it also lies outside the classroom, within the overall school environment.

Once we solve the problems that lie within the aforementioned questions and more girls are given a chance to continue their study of STEM subjects, they won’t be the only ones to gain: science itself will benefit, as will the whole of society.

Brian Butera