Women in Tech: A Rights-Based Approach to Closing the Gender Gap in STEM

Amina’s Dream Deferred

Amina, a brilliant teenager from Tamale, dreamed of becoming a software engineer. She taught herself HTML using a borrowed smartphone and created a website to promote local crafts. But when she enrolled in a computer science class at a local university, she was one of only three women in a class of over 60. Her professors often assumed she didn’t understand complex coding logic, and male peers excluded her from team projects. Eventually, overwhelmed by isolation and subtle bias, Amina changed her major. Her story echoes the experience of countless girls across the Global South: bright minds lost to an environment that does not yet fully recognize their right to learn, grow, and lead in the digital age.

The Gender Gap in STEM: A Global and Local Reality

Despite global progress in education and gender equality, women remain significantly underrepresented in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. According to UNESCO (2021), only 35% of STEM students in higher education globally are women, and the number is even lower in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia.

In the tech industry specifically:

  1. Women hold less than 25% of tech roles globally.
  2. In Africa, women account for only 17% of ICT professionals (AfDB, 2020).
  3. Bias in hiring, promotion, and workplace culture contributes to high attrition rates among women who do enter tech roles.

These figures are not just numbers, they represent a systemic violation of rights.

A Rights-Based Lens: Grounding Equality in Global Frameworks

The fight for gender equality in STEM is not simply about economic opportunity or workforce diversity. It is a human rights issue rooted in international frameworks:Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) affirms that:

“Everyone has the right to education…higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”

Article 2 guarantees that these rights apply “without distinction of any kind, such as sex.” SDG 5 (Gender Equality) calls for “full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making” in political, economic, and public life.SDG 4 (Quality Education) emphasizes inclusive and equitable quality education, including in scientific and technical disciplines.

A rights-based approach means recognizing gender gaps in STEM as violations of international commitments and calling for justice: not charity in closing them.

Structural Barriers Women Face in Tech

1. Gender Bias in Early Education

In many societies, girls are subtly discouraged from taking an interest in mathematics, physics, and computing from a young age. Curricula often lack female role models in STEM, reinforcing stereotypes.

2. Limited Access to Digital Tools

In parts of the Global South, girls are less likely to own mobile devices or have access to the internet. According to GSMA (2023), women in low and middle-income countries are 19% less likely to use mobile internet than men.

3. Workplace Discrimination and Harassment

Women in tech roles often face hostile work environments, limited promotion prospects, and exclusion from technical decision-making.

4. Cultural Norms and Family Expectations

In patriarchal settings, societal pressure discourages women from pursuing careers perceived as “male-dominated” or requiring travel and long hours.

Reclaiming the Narrative: A Rights Based Response

To close the gender gap in STEM, interventions must go beyond training and mentorship. A rights-based approach includes the following:

  1. Policy and Legal Frameworks
    1. Enforce antidiscrimination laws in education and employment.
    2. Mandate gender-responsive budgeting for STEM education.
    3. Ensure national ICT and digital policies explicitly prioritize gender equality.
  2. Digital Literacy and Leadership
  3. Launch national digital literacy campaigns targeting girls and women.
  4. Empower women not just as users of technology, but as creators, innovators, and leaders in tech ecosystems.

From Margin to Mainstream: Why It Matters

Bridging the gender gap in tech isn’t just about fairness, it’s about the future. Studies show that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones, and that tech products built by inclusive teams better serve society. Moreover, with the Fourth Industrial Revolution underway, countries that fail to equip half their population with digital skills are sabotaging their own development.

From Rights to Reality

Amina’s story is not the end, it can be the beginning of something powerful. If governments uphold their legal obligations, if educators challenge gender norms, and if the tech industry embraces inclusion not as a trend but a duty, millions of girls like Amina will thrive.

Technology is the language of the future. Every girl has the right to speak it.

Isaac Dzimabe