Written by Cecilia Hon, Executive Director of Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation
Today, ‘future readiness’ has become the laser focus in education. However, we still see gender bias and stereotypes deter teen girls from pursuing STEM in university which limits their opportunities to pursue careers in these high-growth sectors in the future.
At just one in five management and leadership roles and about one in six STEM students in university, women in Asia are underrepresented in leadership positions and STEM fields. The power of education is here to transform people, break poverty cycles, and bridge opportunity gaps. With this in mind, it’s crucial to inspire, equip and empower teen girls to become future-ready leaders with well-planned programs, like the 10,000 Girls4Girls Coding+ (G4G Coding+) 2022 Summer Camp (“the Camp”) for Future Ready Leaders hosted by the Jennifer Yu Cheng Girls Impact Foundation (JYCGIF) earlier this year.
Teen girls today are the leaders of tomorrow
According to the research by JYCGIF on teen girls in Hong Kong, gender stereotypes and misconceptions about workplace opportunities are the most significant barriers that deter girls from pursuing STEM. While we also see that high-paying jobs of the future will require future-ready skills like coding. Even before COVID-19, the global job market was evolving with technological advances. Research estimates that between 400 and 800 million jobs will be lost to automation and AI by 2030, catapulting employees with core digital and STEM skills (Science, Technology Engineering, and Maths) into senior, lucrative positions across industries.
With women constituting less than 35% of STEM students globally and only 1 in 6 STEM university students in Asia, the opportunities gap facing women in a future world of work will only grow in size and scope. Hence, such programs, with activities like inspirational talks by trailblazers, visits to technology companies, and first-hand experience with AI and coding, would be helpful for teen girls to enjoy coding and AI but are also encouraged to try something new so they can reimagine their future careers. And more importantly, these opportunities empower teen girls with future-ready skills to help close the gap in ongoing development.
Empowering teen girls to become future-ready leaders
Future-ready capacities go beyond understanding AI and digital languages and also cover vital competencies like creativity, critical thinking, confidence, communication, adaptability, and leadership. By providing girls with future-ready resources – education access, tech skills and mindset, and the inspiration and ability to lead confidently – they are equipped with the future skills they need to rise up in different industries. A camp like this not only provides a coding program but introduces the future job market and encourages girls to think about and pursue newfound perspectives on their education and future careers. By empowering the next generation through education to acquire digital skills, leadership, and other skill competencies, such as communication, creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and critical thinking to evolve with changes in the workplace, they become more future-ready.
Seeing is Believing - Starting “A Journey to Your Near Future”
Recently JYCGIF also held the FutureGEN Girls Leadership Summit 2022, which drew over 600 teen girls aged 14 to 18 from across 55 schools in Hong Kong. The Summit held panel discussions and keynote addresses by 25 industry leaders and trailblazers from diverse fields, digital skill-building workshops led by experts, and a New Technology Interactive Zone featuring major innovations shaping the future world and workplace. Such summits enable students to gain insights into various industry transformations and how innovation and technology will shape careers in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area in the future and be inspired by newfound perspectives on their education and future career preparation. It’s time for us to work closely with local and global community leaders to create diverse opportunities that empower teen girls to become next generation leaders. Let’s start the journey to the future together!
