Undercovered: Why the Lack of Women Engineers Could Be Devastating

Undercovered is our daily feature bringing attention to women’s issues worldwide, which we feel deserve a larger audience.

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The dearth of women engineers in Africa could have possibly deleterious consequences for the continent, according to a new report in The Guardian.

Fiona Harvey writes:

Africa faces a crippling deficit of engineering skills, which will stunt its future economic growth and lead to hardship for the continent’s growing population, aconference on engineering heard on Tuesday.

The president of Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, a biodiversity scientist, told the meeting in London: “Only through science, technology, engineering and mathematics can we as a global community increase the prosperity of our people. But Africa, despite its impressive recent economic growth, remains burdened by a deeply rooted scientific deficit.”

She said that encouraging young female students into science and engineering disciplines was key to increasing the number of skilled people available to build much-needed infrastructure and prepare the way for a new society.

You can read the complete report here.

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[image: kstudija / shutterstock.com]

Undercovered is a daily feature from Mediaite, bringing attention to stories about women’s issues that warrant more attention. Go through the Undercovered archives here. If you have an idea or a tip, please email us at Undercovered@mediaite.com

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