Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina: Fondation L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science (FWIS) Sub-Saharan Africa Young Talents Programme

Fondation L’Oreal Executive Director, Pauline Avenel-Lam.
UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa, Prof. Martiale Zebade Kana.
CEO of African Leadership Academy, Hatim Eitayeb.
Members of the Women in Science Sub-Saharan Africa Scientific Jury.
Our most special guests of honour, Young Talents from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa.

It is with gratitude that we have converged for such an important and personally rewarding occasion for our young people. I am saying rewarding because we have in our midst women who are trailblazers in the sciences who are ready to inspire you, as young people, our next generation. The theme for today is “Intergenerational, Pan-African School Event: Generations of Genius, Inspiring Brilliance.” As our children in the African continent, it is you who have a responsibility to elevate science work in Africa to another level.

The field of science is less travelled, especially by many women, because of various social inhibitions, such as perceptions that science is a male space, tough, and unsexy for ladies. I would like to make an emphasis on young women. The interventions we are making through governments' deliberate policy interventions, including the use of funding instruments to redress this gender imbalance, are designed to undo this prevailing picture.

The work that L’Oreal and UNESCO, as a United Nations custodian of education and science advancement, are beginning to bear results in terms of raising the number of women choosing STEM-related professions.

It is important to continue celebrating and supporting women in science through stand-alone events because we are inspiring our children, the girl child, that science is cool, and it is for them as well. In this regard, we encourage both the boy child and the girl child to enjoy equal opportunities in science-related professional careers without bias.

As the Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, I take the opportunity to thank L’Oreal for the enduring partnership that we have sustained together in supporting the Department’s flagship programme, the South African Women in Science Awards (SAWISA). The partnership that you have with UNESCO in this regard demonstrates to us that L’Oreal is not just a corporate partner to the issue of women and science, but you are invested in this agenda equally as we are. In you, we have a genuine partner. Thank you for keeping it real with us.

Our most important guests today are you, the learners before us. As I said before, we are not emphasising girls and excluding boys. But we need to encourage more young women to take up science and mathematics so that they proceed after school to do STEM-related courses. The women professionals brought today to inspire you in the science fields are winners with recognition awards in their fields. The message is simple: you too can make it.

The changes that are happening all over the world through technologies such as AI, Quantum Computing, and the whole range of the Internet of Things (IoT) are driven by science and innovation. Scientists are the movers and shakers of the world, of industries, and of discoveries on the planet.

One American Professor and Psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, Adam Grant, once said:

“If you are a scientist by trade, rethinking is fundamental to your profession. You are paid to be constantly aware of the limits of your understanding. You are expected to doubt what you know, be curious about what you do not know, and update your views based on data…. But being a scientist is not just a profession. It is a frame of mind – a mode of thinking that differs…”

As our children, we need more scientists of the future among you. The science, technology and innovation fields have many areas of interest to focus on, from engineering to health sciences, including space sciences, various career specialisations in areas such as nuclear sciences, pharmacology, genetics, biomedicals, microbiology, and physics.

Those who love technology, the opportunities around computer and data sciences, including AI, data analytics, to software engineering, are in abundance. We cannot exhaust all of them here, and I am sure that everyone in the room will find their suitable choice of field to pursue.

Women in science have often faced gender discrimination, lack of funding, and work-life balance issues, especially when they are starting their families. This has affected the pipeline in terms of the number of women rising to the highest level as top science researchers, science academics, specialists, and other high-ranking positions.

So, we want to change that by encouraging you as young girls to start pursuing these careers early and climb the ladder of success.

Women still face the "leaky pipeline," especially at doctoral and postdoctoral levels. As the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, we have prioritised bursaries and scholarships for women pursuing their post-graduate studies to PhD levels through the National Research Foundation. In partnership with L’Oreal and UNESCO, we have a programme to provide research grants for post-doctoral researchers that targets 55% young women to accelerate them to academia, every year. The Square Kilometer Array Bursaries target women in the field of astronomy.

By these interventions, we are emphasising the importance of creating an inclusive and supportive environment for women in science to thrive as males do. Unless we are deliberate in pushing the boundaries, these realities will remain wishes. As learners, please take advantage of working hard to pass your mathematics and sciences. Start now to research the studies you will do at the university level, and keep the focus on those. STEM-related studies will secure a comfortable future for you.

I take this opportunity to thank the women professionals who sacrificed their time to come and inspire the young girls here today. We get inspired by seeing those who look like us already having achieved it. By being here today, you have communicated a clear message to these learners that it is possible for them as well to achieve it. I also congratulate you as award recipients for the remarkable achievements in this important space.

To educators, please encourage learners to do STEM subjects, and we must never encourage them to take easy subjects for the sake of higher Grade 12 pass rates. Without good mathematics results, those students have limited options after Grade 12. As a government, we will continue supporting and advocating for women in science.

I am confident that we are moving in the right direction. Soon, we will be entering an era where women in science will be recognised and celebrated for their contributions to society.

In this regard, I want to thank the African Leadership Academy for this event and the partnership of L’Oreal and UNESCO. May you all have a good evening!

Thank you.

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