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View all search resultsIndustrial Revolution 4.0 needs more women to drive inclusive recovery
Education and training that addresses biases and stereotypes toward girls in science and leadership will make a tremendous contribution to the continent’s economic development and social inclusion.
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ccording to UNESCO data, globally, women are progressing towards parity in higher education (they represent 45-55 percent of bachelor and master levels of study and 44 percent of PhDs). However, when looking at those disciplines driving advances in the digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution – key drivers of the post-pandemic recovery – such as information and communication technology, computer sciences, physics, mathematics or engineering women remain a minority.
This is consistent with recent ERIA research on the ASEAN region: while an increasing number of girls and women are accessing science-related skills and education, the majority of them are concentrated in the life sciences and much fewer are studying science, technology, engineering, math (STEM)-related disciplines. Numbers shows an even more concerning trend with respect to leadership position (in both the public and the private sector) in these fields.
The digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution are becoming the drivers of the post-pandemic recovery. To be serious about building back better and promoting more inclusive societies and economies across Asia, we must strengthen women’s participation in each of them.
But how can we achieve that? Let’s attempt to provide an answer.
First, we should focus on the younger generations. Over 750 million young people live in Asia, which makes it a relatively young continent. Their active involvement, participation, and voice is essential to achieve gender equality.
Education and training that addresses biases and stereotypes toward girls in science and leadership will make a tremendous contribution to the continent’s economic development and social inclusion. Many initiatives, in some cases developed and led by girls, are emerging: from the Rural Education and Environment Development Center (REED) in Nepal, which provides education to many girls in the rural part of the country to the Kyrgyz Space Program, that introduces space science and technology to girls in Kyrgyzstan, there are several concrete successful examples that could be scaled-up and replicated elsewhere in Asia.
Second, women and girls should play an active role in the innovation revolution spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly critical in two sectors that are at the basis of social inclusion and economic empowerment: health and education. The digitalization of both sectors has progressed rapidly across Asia, driven by necessity of lockdowns and social distancing.
