Editorial | Opening doors for girls in science and technology

In Jamaica, girls, as they do almost every sphere of education, outperform boys in maths and science in primary and high school.

By age 15 – according to the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report for 2025 – the gap in mathematics is 13 per cent in favour of girls. It highlighted that women represent 22 per cent ICT graduates and 35 per cent of engineering graduates.

Generally, the educational differential shows in higher education. Nearly seven in 10 students enrolled in universities and other areas of higher education are women.

But here is the Jamaican paradox. Fewer Jamaican women than men enrolled in STEM courses, especially engineering and technology, at the tertiary level, it is estimated that there is a three-to-one ratio of males to females in information and communication technology (ICT) fields at major tertiary institutions.

The result: in the domestic economy, relatively few women in science and technology, the sectors that are increasingly the backbone of global economic development. In that respect, Jamaica mirrors the situation in the Caribbean, as was recently highlighted by Eric Falt, UNESCO’s regional director for the Caribbean, in an article marking the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

He wrote, “Globally, UNESCO reports that only 33 per cent of researchers are women, and this disparity is echoed across the Caribbean. The gap is even wider in emerging fields: women represent just 22 per cent of AI professionals worldwide, a stark reminder that the technologies shaping our future are being developed without sufficient gender diversity.”

WASTE OF HUMAN TALENT

This disparity is not only unhealthy, but a monumental underutilisation, and, frankly, waste of human talent.

There are many reasons why, despite their head-start, women don’t follow through with STEM education and careers. Cultural expectations and gendered stereotypes steer girls toward traditional career paths in the arts and humanities. Males are more likely to be encouraged to pursue the sciences.

Additionally, there is also a shortage of visible female role models in science and technology, here scientists like Simone Badal McCreath, credited for the creation of the first-ever prostate and breast cancer cells lines that were derived from black people, and whose work Mr Falt described as “exemplifying innovation that directly benefits public health”, can encourage young girls to pursue careers in science.

The Gleaner therefore fully endorses all efforts, including the UNESCO-UWI “Walking in Her Footsteps” initiative, aimed at bringing women to the forefront of STEM education at the tertiary level, and into the science and technology jobs.

Initiatives like the Government of Jamaica-World Bank joint effort to improve teaching practices, inclusiveness and learning conditions. The UNESCO-UWI summer STEM tour, which gives young women access to technology organisations, providing hands-on exposure to real-world applications. The Scientific Research Council initiated Science and Technology XXtrordineers Recognition Programme awards and highlights the work of Jamaican women in STEM. Regionally, the “Girls in ICT” partnership, a collaboration between UNESCO, UN Women, and CARICOM is aiming to increase female participation through targeted training and advocacy.

These efforts are commendable, and a steps in the right direction.

In April 2024, Prime Minister Andrew Holness officially declared Jamaica a “STEM Island”, which proposes comprehensive education reforms, building six new STEM/STEAM schools, launching a virtual STEM academy, and investing in digital infrastructure.

Women, who constitute almost 46 per cent of the Jamaican workforce, need to be encouraged to drive science and technology innovation, competitiveness and resilience. The International Labour Organization estimates that globally two in five STEM workers are now women.

Bottomline, young girls need encouragement, mentoring and robust ecosystem to pursue professions in the sciences, and break the proverbial glass ceiling.

BARRIERS

But there are barriers need to be addressed – underfunded infrastructure, shortage of qualified teachers, and low student performance in mathematics.

Many high schools are ill-equipped. Last year April, Anniona Jones, vice president of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools lamented that “The condition of our lab facilities remains a significant concern. There is no running water, no electricity, no sink facilities, [and] no fume cupboards. Students don’t even have the basic equipment needed to conduct the experimental activities required for the curriculum.”

In 2024 Education Minister Dana Morris Dixon, called reducing the gender gap of ICT workforce, where women make up only 28 per cent of the workforce. “We are striving to shift that balance, aiming for a future where our daughters stand equally with our sons in the digital space,” she said.

In the post-Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts there should be focus on inclusive economic growth, holistic implementation of STEM education in schools.

This should be the way forward.