( Published in " Le Matinal " ( Mauritian daily Newspaper ) on the 11th August, 2006 )

Moving from a mono-crop economy towards industrialization, today our government's latest mission is to improve economy further by moving into higher value sectors particularly Information Technology. In line with this, the government of Mauritius is investing heavily in developing information technology with special aims of creating "Cyber Cities" through investment in infrastructure and training.

The government's latest initiatives for higher order industry and the move into a greater service-based economy has inevitably lead to the need for a more highly "technically" skilled educated workforce. This in turn means a solid technical educational foundation within Mauritius to further strengthen the need for skilled manpower. Unfortunately, this system can operate only against a background of the active participation of several stakeholders, the key players being students. Without their participation and co-operation in working towards goals, investment in the system can produce only a poor return. Beyond the students are Parents, Rectors, Headmasters, Teachers, Policy Makers, Communities and Government.

Students in today's world will be the professional workforce of tomorrow. Industry and workplace professionals realize the need for technical skills as vital to the success of the student. Instructors are responsible to the students of today to prepare them for the world of tomorrow in the technical arena but unfortunately, at the dawn of this third millennium, where the world society is moving towards an information and knowledge-based global economic and cultural structure, the shortage of technical workers is felt in Mauritius. Why?
The Education system in Mauritius, patterned after the British model, has improved greatly since independence. Though there has been a steady increase in the enrolment of girls in secondary schools

Year

2000

2003

2004

Female Enrolment

49,049

53,901

55,078



as compared to Boys

Year

2000

2003

2004

Male Enrolment

46,399

49,946

50,910



with School Certificate ( % Pass )

Year

2000

2003

2004

Female ( % )

78.3

77.7

79.4

 



and Higher School Certificate ( % Pass )

Year

2000

2003

2004

Female ( % )

76.9

78.6

79.4



as compared to Boys:

School Certificate ( % Pass )

Year

2000

2003

2004

Male ( % )

74.7

73.0

75.4



and Higher School Certificate ( % Pass )

Year

2000

2003

2004

Male ( % )

67.4

70.9

72.5

representing a net domination of females in the education arena, yet there are fewer women in the ICT and Technology sector than men. Girl's enrolment in scientific and technological subjects are far below their male counterparts in numbers. Why? This does not meet the aspirations of a developing country like Mauritius. Why are women under-represented in ICT and Technology despite their obvious abilities and success at exams. This undoubtedly lead us to think of girls under-representation in Technical and Science Education. Mauritius has nearly 1.2 million inhabitants with a female population representing more than 50%. Nonetheless, anyone who has followed the research in Education and Schooling in Mauritius can not help but be swayed towards believing that there is something to be examined here.

Though girls are better achievers than boys in secondary schools, fewer girls do Science and Technical subjects compared to Languages, Management, Accounting, Economics or Humanities. This can leave an effect in future on the number of women Scientists and Technologists representing our human workforce supposed to move the country's progress the next phase of industrialization.

Science related subjects including Agricultural Science, Design and Technology, Electronics, Dress and Textiles, Food and Textiles, Food and Nutrition and Computer Studies have experienced a relatively slow evolution because of the inherent academic bias in the education system. Students options for Technology related subjects has remained comparatively low. Why? In Mauritius, girls do not go for Design & Technology ( D & T ) and boys barely enter for Food Studies. Why? Even at teacher training level, male teachers enroll for Design & Technology whereas few male teachers opt for Food Studies, Dress and Textiles. There is inadequate Technology Education for secondary girls in Mauritius as this seem to be a male domain. A recent visit made by myself in some UK schools proved the contrary. Most UK secondary schools do offer Technology courses ( D & T ) to both boys and girls but in Mauritius, D & T is offered to boys only. Why this gender inequality?

Literature in this field identify this gender divide as an outcome of several factors such as family socialization of male and female children, family values, parental expectation for their children, parental attitudes towards technological careers, discouragement attitudes from peers, siblings, teachers, counselors and parents.

The past two decades have demonstrated the growing strength of the global women's movement in advocating issues of women's equality and empowerment. If Mauritius is to move further to achieve its millennium goal, attitudinal changes towards science and technology are required from teachers, parents, students and stakeholders in the education sector. A change in the present situation is needed in order to reduce the reliance on the male half of the population to provide the required pool of scientists and technologists to vehicle the demands of the development of the country.

Gender gap and bias in Technology is not a new issue. This has its origins in numerous places of the globe. Equal accessibility for girls can only come when Parents, Teachers, Policy Makers and School Administrators will work together for equal accessibility. Technology is part of our culture and, of course , not male dominated. The Technological revolution cannot leave girls and women behind. Women have all rights to become technocrats of tomorrow to vehicle the governments' decisions to success. Mauritian Industry requires people with a better understanding of Technology leading a labour force with more adaptable skills and the flexibility to deal with on-going rapid Technological change. Women make up more than half the nation's work force , yet they account for only 22% of employed Scientists and Engineers. Despite their being more successful at exams their contribution in Technological advancement is low. " Women need to be involved in decision making regarding the development of the new Technologies in order to participate fully in their growth and impact."
( Fourth World Conference on Women. )

( By DOOKEE Gyaneshwar )