A Canadian STEM leader and female empowerment advocate shares her vision on how to support young women pursuing careers in science and technology.
Jennifer Flanagan is a female empowerment advocate and CEO of ACTUA, Canada's leading science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) organization. She is one of 10 world delegates to the 67th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. This year, it focuses on innovation and technology, its contribution to education, careers and achieving gender equality.
“In tech, less than 30 per cent of jobs are held by women,” Flanagan said in an interview with CTV Morning Live.
The pandemic showed that not everybody has access to the Internet, Flanagan said. That might be surprising, but rural and northern communities of Manitoba are struggling to get proper Internet access.
“Technology is such a critically integrated part of our life. If we don’t have access, it means we are not able to participate, whether this is in education, in jobs, or just day-to-day socializing. Every job will be impacted by technology.”
Canada’s technology sector is vast and growing. It opens opportunities for girls and young women that can dramatically change the gender balance in careers. But both women and the industry need to be prepared for stepping in.
Flanagan leads a national network of 350,000 female youth. It provides STEM insights and career development for over 15,000 girls annually.
“We are able to give [the girls and young women] technology-based skills,” she said. “Not just using technology but an understanding of how it works, being able to use it to produce other new things.
“To continue spreading a message: it’s not girls who are having problems with technology and science - it is the system that is broken and still has so many barriers and challenges that resist having girls, young women and other underrepresented groups being engaged.”
- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dubé
