Artificial intelligence (AI) has forever changed the way society interacts with technology. It has provided limitless opportunities for problem-solving in the last decade, and the relationship between artificial intelligence and poverty reduction may be one worth fostering.
In 2007, the iPhone had first made its appearance on the world stage. Since its release, phone-based computer programs (apps) have evolved from simple games like Space Invaders: Infinite Gene, to industry-upsetting business models like Uber.
Since apps began to use algorithms to create relatively simple artificial intelligence (AI), computation has become vital to leading businesses and organization. Ten years ago, AI was almost entirely task-based, but a new form of AI—known as deep learning—has garnered more attention in the past few years.
Instead of a programmer telling how a certain machine should do a task, deep learning AI uses neural networks which actually teach the computer (or other deep learning AI) how to complete tasks in the most efficient manner. What makes it so special is that deep learning is faultless, and, with enough computation resources, can learn things faster than humans.
Does this finally mean that the age of robots is upon us? The easy answer is yes. Deep learning machines have now outplayed people in chess, Go (widely considered to be the most complex game in the world) and are possibly are going to try to beat humans at StarCraft, a multiplayer video game. But AI can disrupt the world’s economy in significant ways. Corporations use it to trade in the financial sector; write articles for newspapers; diagnose health disorders and diseases and do manual office work. It has even recreated a Nobel prize-winning physics experiment.
In the last decade, we have discovered that deep learning AI and AI has infinite potential. So, the question goes, how will artificial intelligence and poverty correlate? Can AI reduce poverty? In general, it should. Never in the history of mankind have we let machines do this type of work for us, so we have no precedents to build off of. Additionally, because deep learning machines are only just coming onto the marketplace, new obstacles may appear as we continue AI research.
However, people are beginning to harness this extremely powerful tool for the poor, and the work sounds promising. At the moment, AI is especially useful for data mining simple statistics: which areas need more development, which people require more education and how they can receive it, etc. Having to collect this data manually would be a time-intensive task that would also be incredibly expensive.
However, there are also more complex uses for AI, such as agricultural research for poor farmers. Tech giant IBM is working on an operations research robot that will optimize transporting food aid around the globe. Improvement of artificial intelligence and poverty reduction are thus parallel goals for these major corporations.
In addition, IBM is also working on a novel illiteracy project. If eventually implemented, it will allow people to learn how to read without the assistance of a teacher by having a computer analyze something that a student of any age might find in their daily life (such as a flower). The computer would then display the written word while playing the sound for it. This would allow people to learn how to read wherever they are, whenever they have time.
Of course, these are all leading edge uses when talking about artificial intelligence and poverty. While engineers continue to work on the technical aspects of the technology, the U.N. is preparing for the change in methodology in battling poverty by holding AI summits. Twenty U.N. agencies have and will continue to discuss issues pertaining to the Millennium Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in relation to AI.
The potential to significantly diminish poverty with these new technologies is very high. It might take humanity decades before AI is actively fighting poverty, but when it does, it will most likely help eradicate it.
One main challenge of AI is to make sure that we can control it. Futurologist Elon Musk, along with world renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and many AI experts have signed an open letter warning the U.N. against the use of AI-powered weapons, as they can potentially develop their own ethics standards and kill humans ceaselessly, regardless of their affiliation. Even though this warning specifically targets militarized robots, it is a cautionary tale: we need to tread carefully when using new technology, which is why AI will only truly take off several years into the future.
– Michal Burgunder
Photo: Flickr
On the Micronesia Poverty Rate
According to the Asian Development Bank, the Micronesia poverty rate has reached 41.2 percent this year. Out of the Asian Pacific countries, it has the second highest poverty rate.
Additionally, while the percentage of the population that lived on less than $1.90 a day in 2000 was 46 percent, it declined to 17.4 in 2013, according to The World Bank. While the Micronesia poverty rate is seemingly high, the middle class has been expanding in recent years.
As of 2000, the richest 20 percent owned 65.9 percent of the wealth, while the middle classes owned about 27 percent of the wealth. In contrast, in 2013, the richest 20 percent owned about 48 percent of the wealth, while the middle class owned 37 percent. The poorest 20 percent have also increased their earnings from 1.4 percent of the wealth in 2000 to 5 percent in 2013.
The wealth inequality trend has also decreased in Micronesia in recent years. At 63.3 percent in 2000, the trend dropped to 42.5 percent in 2013. The Gross National Income (GNI) has increased around $100 from 2015 to 2016.
However, the GDP growth has slowed from 3.8 percent to around 2 percent in the past year. The decrease in growth was due to a drought in 2016, which led to water rationing, emergency shipments of water and increased health concerns. El Niño caused the drought itself.
Earning around $20 million annually, the fishing industry is the main source of income for Micronesia. The market value of tuna in the region is around $200 million per year, but Micronesians don’t take advantage of this resource. As of right now, agriculture is a vital component to the economy because of the contributions it makes to per capita income, export earnings and subsistence production. The agriculture and fishing industries make up 42 percent of the GDP for Micronesia.
To decrease the Micronesia poverty rate, there is promise in the tourism industry especially considering the abundance of marine and natural beauty. What is currently hindering the tourism industry, however, is the limited air transportation, land-use issues, and competition with surrounding islands of similar atmosphere.
– Sydney Roeder
Photo: Flickr
Corruption: Kryptonite to Foreign Aid
Foreign aid is a topic that stirs controversy, with each side maintaining significant weight in their argument.
“You know the excuses: We can’t afford foreign aid anymore, or we’re wasting money pouring it into these poor countries, or we can’t buy friends—other countries just take the money and dislike us for giving it. Well, all these excuses are just that, excuses—and they’re dead wrong,” Ronald Reagan said in 1987.
The United States’ stance on foreign aid changes with each administration. The phrase, “you are damned if you do, you are damned if you don’t” comes to mind.
Foreign aid has been categorized as “soft power” since the late 1980s. “Soft power” is the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants without force or coercion. Joseph Nye coined the phrase, arguing that security relies on winning people as much as winning wars.
Since the 1980s, soft power has become central in U.S. foreign policy practices. Is foreign aid a tool in the soft power toolbox?
Nye believes aid is purchasing power, not soft power. Despite the nuances of whether aid is categorized as purchasing power or soft power, foreign aid is important for the United States to achieve interests abroad.
According to Phil Vernon, “currency of soft power is values, institutions, culture and policy, then soft power is exercised by the choices you make and the actions you take, not by what you say.” If this is true, aid should be accompanied by anti-corruption monitoring organizations, tools of economic sustainability and keys of independence. The goal is not to have a country depending on the United States, but to provide the tools for a state to become independent.
If the United States does not ensure and monitor the aid given, corruption will prevent the money from reaching the population in need. Monitoring programs are even more vital than aid itself. Corruption is the kryptonite to foreign aid.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the more corrupt the government is, the more aid the state receives. There is no evidence that an increase in foreign aid reduces corruption.
Currently, corruption is not being punished. This lack of acknowledgment is only encouraging governments to abuse international funds. If corruption is reflected in next year’s funding, people will suffer. If the population suffers on the government’s behalf, this is motivation for the population to vote in order to correct the situation. Thus, reducing corruption will be imminent.
Despite the controversies and arguments surrounding international aid, it is important to remember that giving aid to corrupt governments is not giving aid to the people. Corrupt governments must be punished in some way in order to reduce international corruption. Corruption is the kryptonite to U.S. foreign policy success. U.S. interests must be maintained, and aid is a tool in the toolbox for doing just that.
– Danielle Preskitt
Photo: Flickr
How to Help People in Algeria: Three Key Organizations
Algeria is located in Northern Africa and serves as the gateway between continental Europe and Africa. Over 50 percent of Algeria’s rural population lives below the national poverty line and unemployment is high in young and rural populations. Algeria serves as a transit destination for human trafficking, for purposes of travel to Europe or for forced labor. Poverty in Algeria leads to a lack of access to proper housing, sanitation facilities and education and medical infrastructure. Here are a few ways to help poverty-affected people in Algeria:
SOS Children’s Villages
Algeria is home to more than 500,000 orphaned children. These children, who grow up with no parental protection or in dysfunctional family structures, are more likely to face social exclusion and poverty. Additionally, they are more likely to be exploited and drawn to criminal activities. SOS Children’s Villages provides young people and children in Algeria with daycare and medical assistance. This organization focuses on awareness, prevention, reporting and responding in regards to child abuse and negligence. The SOS Children’s Villages works in accordance with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Donors can either sponsor a child, sponsor a village or make a donation directly to SOS Children’s Villages through their website.
World Food Project USA
The World Food Project USA (WFP) has worked in Algeria since 1986. Per month, WFP provides more than 125,000 food rations to hungry people in Algeria. WFP also strives to tackle childhood hunger by providing healthy mid-morning snacks to 32,500 school children. Furthermore, WFP has 29 nutrition centers in Algeria, where they provide education and treatment for anemia, nutrition problems and growth stunting for children under five and for pregnant women.
People wanting to get involved can donate directly to WFP online or by mail. WFP also encourages other creative ways to raise money such as organizing a fundraiser or downloading the ShareTheMeal app, where users can provide a child with one meal for just 50 cents.
Handicap International
Handicap International strives to promote the social inclusion and improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in Algeria. Though Algeria has been relatively progressive in passing legislation for handicap persons, these persons are still not fully included in society. Handicap International advocates for public voices for handicapped individuals. This organization also collaborates with healthcare professionals and education stakeholders to provide specialized treatment for handicapped adults and children. Handicap International accepts monetary donations in addition to vehicle donations. Handicap International also asks Americans to sign a petition to encourage President Trump to submit the Mine Ban Treaty to the Senate. More than 90 percent of land mine victims are civilians. Land mine injuries can be fatal or result in major disabilities.
Whether you support children, hungry people or the disabled, these three organizations are all great places to start helping those suffering from poverty in Algeria.
– Christiana Lano
Photo: Flickr
Causes of Poverty in Kenya: The Relevance of Education
There are three major causes of poverty in Kenya relating to a lack of adequate education, even though Kenya is a country that values education and recognizes its long-term benefits for the nation. Kenya is in dire need of assistance to rise above the poverty line, considering 45.9 percent of the population were below that line in 2005.
Kenya is a society that values education highly; in fact, 95.6 percent of youth were enrolled in basic education in 2000 and 108.9 percent were enrolled in 2015. The data exceeds 100 percent due to overage and underage Kenyans attending school. The influx in enrollment was partially caused by the abolishment of entry fees for primary schools in 2006.
However, the first of many causes of poverty in Kenya is the amount of funding the schools require from Kenyans and government officials to provide adequate materials and resources. Just this month, a Kenyan youth mentor named Michael Wanjala, who was raised in Nairobi, shared: “The thing that pushed me so much was one day when mom went to ask for a loan of 2,000 shillings to pay for my education…It was so hard. I had to go and ask for textbooks. I had to go and ask for a uniform, for shoes.”
Overpopulation is the second issue because the vast quantity of enrolled children today means there is a higher demand in resources for a well-equipped, productive learning environment.
Furthermore, a poor quality education is another one of the causes of poverty in Kenya. A high number of children are cramped together in classrooms, there are minimal teaching materials and each class has a single teacher. With a poor teacher to student ratio, children who learn differently end up getting left behind because the teacher does not have a chance to serve each child individually. Those children who are left behind remain enrolled in school until they can catch up, adding to the amount of resources needed, since there is not an even ratio of new students to graduated students.
The Ministry of Education has already established a Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards under the Education Act of Kenya to begin the process of monitoring teachers’ performances and to improve the quality of Kenya’s basic education.
Simply because many Kenyan children attend school does not necessarily mean that they are benefitting from the experience as much as they could be. If they were provided with more schools, teachers, resources and extra funding for additional materials, then their attendance in primary schools would make a greater impact on the country’s poor. Kenya’s school system needs to match the demand caused by their large population so that children can obtain a quality education and – hopefully – be better equipped to lift themselves out of poverty and succeed in the future.
– Brianna White
Photo: Flickr
Mobile Empowers Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa
That being said, the impact of a nation’s agricultural systems is still so significant that a one percent increase in agricultural per capita GDP would actually cause a decrease in the poverty gap five times larger than a one percent increase in per capita GDP of any other area. Further, it is a widely shared belief amongst development economists that the area most impacted by agricultural growth is in non-farm income and employment. In other words, no matter how large or small a nation’s agricultural sector is, it has an immense impact on the nation overall. As a result, it is no wonder that addressing the agricultural sector is inherently necessary in the effort to address the 40 percent of the world’s poor that live in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Such is exactly why the work of Esoko Networks Limited is so important. As a technology platform that works to bridge the information gap for farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, Esoko strives to improve the production yield and make farmers more market savvy through multiple facets – and all through the personal ease of the ever-ubiquitous mobile phone. Esoko provides up-to-date market information such as current prices and also includes weather alerts – the latter being an increasingly serious matter, as fluctuating environmental conditions due to climate change has forced changes in agricultural practices in many areas. Additionally, Esoko allows individuals to share information regarding agricultural practices and technologies, old and new, effectively creating a farmer-specific library of information from which to learn and improve one’s production.
Perhaps most exciting, this technology also has a feature which allows buyers and sellers to identify and connect with each other – creating a mini-market that can focus specifically on interactions between smallholder farmers while also providing access to larger markets. As a final measure, Esoko has included a system to survey the individuals who use their technology. This system has been so effective that it has brought down UNICEF’s profiling error rate to an astonishing zero percent – it was previously at 55 percent.
Overall, Esoko has been found to increase income for those farmers who use it by about 10 percent- and all by simply creating a network for farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to communicate, connect and learn.
– Kailee Nardi
Photo: Flickr
UNITAR Provides Instruction to Least Developed Countries
Capacity for the 2030 Agenda
UNITAR provides instruction and delivers a range of projects, e-training courses, in-person seminars, webinars and education sessions/conferences. This instruction is done with the intent of assisting national jurisdictions and stakeholders to develop the capability for mainstreaming, executing and analyzing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This Agenda challenges all countries and stakeholders to cooperate in the implementation of global objectives at all levels.
Strengthen Multilateralism
UNITAR seeks to empower representatives to participate in intergovernmental deliberations as well as management.
Globalization is increasing, and the consequences of multilateral conversation and collaboration are growing. The demand from the Member States for training and capacity development in the field of multilateral diplomacy will continue to rise. UNITAR supports the Member States by conveying knowledge related to the practices, policies and methods of multilateral working conditions and United Nations intergovernmental machinery.
UNITAR provides instruction based on a unique focus on contemporary diplomacy-related topics including colloquies related to climate change, trade and intellectual property issues.
Promote Economic Development and Social Inclusion
To attain sustainable growth and development and to accomplish global objectives including the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, advancing nations including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) must understand current and future challenges affecting the environment. Many countries are inadequately outfitted to design, execute and monitor adequate expansion plans. UNITAR helps LDCs to increase their capacities for trade, finance, investment and intellectual property, assisting achievement related to their development priorities, altering procedures to create workable plans.
Advance Environmental Sustainability and Green Development
As countries persevere in building solutions to conquer impending environmental hurdles and to advance low carbon growth, UNITAR shares solutions gathered from its experience, analyzing learning requirements, designing tailored learning approaches and using the latest in instructional design techniques.
To advance the objective of furthering environmental sustainability, UNITAR provides instruction while partnering with U.N. associates, as well as additional associations and nations to develop well-organized learning tactics, as a means of delivering climate resilient development production. UNITAR focuses on increasing skills in analysis of vulnerabilities and risks and strategies to create resilience to climate change.
Research and Technology Applications
This area of work includes most of the organization’s research efforts in the areas of technology applications and innovation. UNITAR is home to an advanced center of excellence for satellite imagery and data analysis, UNITAR’s Operational Satellite Applications Program (UNOSAT). The center is active in research, applications and specialized training. Twenty-first-century technology will confront climate change, facilitate resilience and involve citizens in the work of the U.N. In this area, UNITAR provides instruction utilizing tools to promote information and knowledge about adult learning principles and instructional design approaches for all the Member States.
By focusing on these areas, UNITAR hopes to empower the world with knowledge, especially in creating sustainable solutions for the future.
– Heather Hopkins
Photo: Flickr
Why Is Haiti Poor?
Haiti has been consistently named the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck seven years ago and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 brought attention to this truth. With natural disasters like the two aforementioned raising media attention to philanthropic efforts, the question often remains: why is Haiti poor?
The question at hand can be addressed by looking at one of the key reasons: political instability. Haiti’s political history has been unstable and this is usually attributed to post-colonial tensions and leadership struggles. While the situation has improved in recent years, the periodic vacancies of positions within the cabinet and of the prime minister, as well as parliamentary debate can and have halted reconstruction efforts or poverty-reducing legislation. For example, the 2016 election process was delayed many times. This delay did nothing for the reported 55,000 people still living in makeshift camps after being displaced due to the rural housing damage caused by the 2010 earthquake.
The slow implementation of policies is often cited as a governmental failure, a failure that fuels crises. IRIN News notes the Haitian government’s wish to implement reforestation projects and other policies that would aid commercial farmers, but that corruption and donated resources not being properly distributed are hampering this effort. IRIN News quotes a Haitian farmer who states that “politicians have failed…Our leaders even had the audacity to take credit for efforts done by aid agencies and directed towards their friends.”
Because of this political instability and overall distrust for the political system, demonstrations are often held in Port-au-Prince. Haitians themselves are questioning: why is Haiti poor?
With new president Jovenel Moïse inaugurated in February 2017, many citizens are hopeful that he will follow through on his election promises of government reform and more democratic processes.
– Gabriella Paez
Photo: Flickr
On Artificial Intelligence and Poverty
Artificial intelligence (AI) has forever changed the way society interacts with technology. It has provided limitless opportunities for problem-solving in the last decade, and the relationship between artificial intelligence and poverty reduction may be one worth fostering.
In 2007, the iPhone had first made its appearance on the world stage. Since its release, phone-based computer programs (apps) have evolved from simple games like Space Invaders: Infinite Gene, to industry-upsetting business models like Uber.
Since apps began to use algorithms to create relatively simple artificial intelligence (AI), computation has become vital to leading businesses and organization. Ten years ago, AI was almost entirely task-based, but a new form of AI—known as deep learning—has garnered more attention in the past few years.
Instead of a programmer telling how a certain machine should do a task, deep learning AI uses neural networks which actually teach the computer (or other deep learning AI) how to complete tasks in the most efficient manner. What makes it so special is that deep learning is faultless, and, with enough computation resources, can learn things faster than humans.
Does this finally mean that the age of robots is upon us? The easy answer is yes. Deep learning machines have now outplayed people in chess, Go (widely considered to be the most complex game in the world) and are possibly are going to try to beat humans at StarCraft, a multiplayer video game. But AI can disrupt the world’s economy in significant ways. Corporations use it to trade in the financial sector; write articles for newspapers; diagnose health disorders and diseases and do manual office work. It has even recreated a Nobel prize-winning physics experiment.
In the last decade, we have discovered that deep learning AI and AI has infinite potential. So, the question goes, how will artificial intelligence and poverty correlate? Can AI reduce poverty? In general, it should. Never in the history of mankind have we let machines do this type of work for us, so we have no precedents to build off of. Additionally, because deep learning machines are only just coming onto the marketplace, new obstacles may appear as we continue AI research.
However, people are beginning to harness this extremely powerful tool for the poor, and the work sounds promising. At the moment, AI is especially useful for data mining simple statistics: which areas need more development, which people require more education and how they can receive it, etc. Having to collect this data manually would be a time-intensive task that would also be incredibly expensive.
However, there are also more complex uses for AI, such as agricultural research for poor farmers. Tech giant IBM is working on an operations research robot that will optimize transporting food aid around the globe. Improvement of artificial intelligence and poverty reduction are thus parallel goals for these major corporations.
In addition, IBM is also working on a novel illiteracy project. If eventually implemented, it will allow people to learn how to read without the assistance of a teacher by having a computer analyze something that a student of any age might find in their daily life (such as a flower). The computer would then display the written word while playing the sound for it. This would allow people to learn how to read wherever they are, whenever they have time.
Of course, these are all leading edge uses when talking about artificial intelligence and poverty. While engineers continue to work on the technical aspects of the technology, the U.N. is preparing for the change in methodology in battling poverty by holding AI summits. Twenty U.N. agencies have and will continue to discuss issues pertaining to the Millennium Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals in relation to AI.
The potential to significantly diminish poverty with these new technologies is very high. It might take humanity decades before AI is actively fighting poverty, but when it does, it will most likely help eradicate it.
One main challenge of AI is to make sure that we can control it. Futurologist Elon Musk, along with world renowned physicist Stephen Hawking and many AI experts have signed an open letter warning the U.N. against the use of AI-powered weapons, as they can potentially develop their own ethics standards and kill humans ceaselessly, regardless of their affiliation. Even though this warning specifically targets militarized robots, it is a cautionary tale: we need to tread carefully when using new technology, which is why AI will only truly take off several years into the future.
– Michal Burgunder
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Rate in Uzbekistan Significantly Lower in Recent Years
Since gaining independence in 1991 after the fall of the USSR, Uzbekistan’s prosperity has grown by leaps and bounds. Located in Central Asia, just south of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan has become the fifth-largest cotton exporter in the world and is quickly growing its gold and natural gas industries. Its forecasted GDP growth for 2017 is seven percent, which is well above the 3.2 percent average of other Central Asian countries. In fact, Uzbekistan’s GDP has more than tripled since 2007. Despite these exciting changes, there is still much room for improvement, particularly concerning the poverty rate in Uzbekistan.
Lack of employment is a major issue for Uzbekistan, with 12.8 percent of its population living below the poverty line. Since becoming a sovereign nation, a time when Uzbekistan’s economy was in flux, the country has become dependent on its exportation of its gold and cotton products; however, these commodities are tightly controlled by the regime, with much of the profits lining the pockets of the wealthy leaders, leaving many average citizens high and dry. Job stagnation also hurts the poverty rate in Uzbekistan as the number of Uzbek citizens of eligible employment age has increased and industries with little room for growth dominate the country.
Because there is little money to be made in Uzbekistan, many people migrate or work abroad, usually in Russia or Kazakhstan. The citizens often face harsh repercussions including harassment from Uzbek security services and government interference with remittances. These poor economic conditions, along with restrictions on human rights and religious freedoms nearly thrust Uzbekistan into a civil war during the Andijan massacre in 2005, when hundreds of protesters were shot dead for demanding their president’s resignation.
In 2016, a new Uzbek president was elected to office for the first time in 25 years: Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Since taking office, Mirziyoyev has partnered with The World Bank in a five-year strategy to use a $100 million loan for the creation of 500,000 new jobs. The goal of the plan is to decrease the poverty rate in Uzbekistan and to help the country reach upper-middle-income status by 2030.
Although there is still more progress needed to improve the livelihoods of average Uzbek citizens, it is important not to understate the growth and development that has been at work in the country for decades. Since 2001, the poverty rate has been cut by more than half. These numbers, along with new leadership and the implementation of the stimulus package being proposed, give hope to the prospect of a wealthy and economically secure Uzbekistan.
– Micaela Fischer
Photo: Flickr
Improvements in Global STEM Education for Girls
Women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields have been coming in a distant second to their male counterparts for the entirety of STEM’s history.
Since Marie Curie was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1903, only 17 women have won a Nobel Prize in physics, chemistry or medicine. This number is drastically lower than the 572 men who have won Nobel Prizes in that time.
Additionally, only 28 percent of researchers worldwide are women. This immense gender gap has motivated people across the world to alleviate the adversity women continue to face in the STEM world.
Among these is Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, who has recognized that many countries hold girls back at a young age due to discrimination, biases and social norms and expectations.
Because girls are turned away from the quality STEM education that boys have access to, girls tend to lose interest in these subjects between early and late adolescence.
At the Cracking the Code: Girls’ Education in STEM conference in Bangkok from August 28-30, officials discussed this gender gap and the ways it can be improved.
Currently, only 35 percent of college students enrolled in STEM-related fields are female, which is undoubtedly low because of the lack of STEM opportunities for girls throughout primary and secondary school.
Progress has been made in some countries, known as “model countries”, that are fighting this gender gap. Malaysia has partnered with UNESCO to achieve gender parity, which has led to 57 percent of degrees in science-related fields being held by women.
Malaysia and UNESCO are working in the global south and several African countries to improve STEM education opportunities for girls. Schools across the globe are being encouraged to pay more attention to female students and provide curriculum and other learning materials that stray from the stereotypical masculinity of sciences.
Support for girls pursuing a STEM education starts at home. Family biases and gender norms are a big contributor to the low number of females in STEM-related fields.
Thus, it is increasingly important for families to encourage young girls to join science and math-related activities and clubs outside of the classroom. Science and math clubs, competitions and camps are a great source of empowerment for girls in STEM education.
While UNESCO and model countries are working to eliminate the gender gap in STEM, it takes the support of educators and role models globally to change the fate of female students.
– Kassidy Tarala
Photo: Flickr