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STORY: UN / WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY
TRT: .54
SOURCE: UNDP / UNICEF / FAO / IFAD / UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: FILE
1. Med shot, women technician at IAEA
2. Med shot, woman technician at IAEA
3. Med shot, man and woman technician at IAEA
4. Med shot, woman technician in irradiation plant in Peru
5. Med shot, Mama Hawa (2012 Nansen Award laureate) leading kids into classroom in Somalia
6. Wide shot, Mama Hawa talking to pupils in classroom
7. Med shot, female teacher pointing at blackboard
8. Wide shot, female teacher giving female class in Zimbabwe
9. Wide shot, female teacher writing on blackboard and talking to pupils.
10. Wide shot, woman working in a field in Burkina Faso
11. Med shot, woman hoeing
12. Close up, hoeing
13. Close up, planting plant
Women and girls run the risk of being left behind in scientific and technological fields if countries do not put measures in place to address discrimination and change traditional attitudes, the United Nations said today (7 January), warning that this gap constitutes an obstacle to nations’ progress.
The report, issued by the International Labour Organization (ILO), said that the gap between men and women in the scientific and technological fields is linked to pervasive gender roles and attitudes in different societies – visible in both developed and developing countries – which encourage girls to pursue ‘softer’ subjects.
With an estimated 500 million people entering the global workforce over the next decade, the ILO said, it is crucial that women in science and technology jobs are not left working at the lowest levels.
Women are overrepresented in the humanities and social sciences, the ILO said, including teaching and other educational professions.
Girls are far less likely than boys to study engineering or computer or physical sciences, the ILO said. Stereotypes of girls represent them as less interested or capable in certain subjects – such as mathematics and science. This inevitably reduces their access to jobs with better pay or labour markets that may offer better opportunities.
Late last year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his message marking the International Day of Rural Women highlighted the role women play in producing much of the world's food and caring for the environment.
He said that eliminating discrimination that prevents rural women from realizing their full potential is crucial to ending global hunger and poverty.
