“However, raising awareness does not mean we have adequately addressed the problem,” says ABSA’s Chanté Ehlers, Tribe Support Manager.  “As a country, we cannot solely rely on organisations to enhance female representation in emerging technology. It starts at a university level, a school level, it even starts with the way we raise our daughters.”

Amber Elliott, Culture and Engagement Specialist, ABSA’s Information and Technology Office, agrees:  “Historically, biases, stereotypes, masculine cultures, and gender norms have all been key drivers of women being underrepresented in STEM and ICT careers. These biases and stereotypes are usually perpetuated by society and become implicitly institutionalized in organizational policies and practices, which may then be discriminatory towards women. These sorts of systemic injustices may deter women from entering the profession and cause existing women in STEM to abandon such careers.” Ehlers adds, that while the barriers to entry for women was built many years ago, “it has a strong foundation, but definitely not an unbreakable one.”