How online learning can help increase female STEM participation

Globally, enrollments in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects continue to highlight gender disparities. Women accounted for only 28 percent of engineering graduates worldwide in 2021, while only 40 percent of computer science and informatics graduates are female. STEM skills are essential to fueling innovation and growth in the digital economy. As the gender disparity in the education system widens, it will create further inequalities across the digital workforce — at a significant economic cost.

It is therefore vital to continue closing these gaps. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), recognising the potential of an untapped talent pool, programmes such as Dubai Plan 2021 have been designed to increase the participation of Emirati women in the workforce, fund female entrepreneurship, and provide childcare allowances.

Such programmes will build on the UAE’s existing achievements in driving equality. Recognising that equal participation in education can provide women with the high-demand skills needed to close workforce gender gaps, the UAE has improved its female higher education entry rate: 77 percent of the country’s women now attend university. At some of the UAE’s top universities, women now outnumber men in Engineering disciplines.

In addition, findings from Coursera’s recent Women and Skills Report signal an increase in enrollment in STEM courses among UAE women between 2019 and 2021 — up from 31 percent in 2019 to 36 percent in 2021. This offers encouragement that online learning is creating more opportunities for women to acquire digital skills, fostering foundations for more equitable economic mobility.

Experts say that the way academic curricula are designed plays a vital role in increasing inclusivity. Here are four ways that online learning is encouraging more women to upskill and reskill for the challenges of the modern workplace.

Providing flexibility and accessibility

Online learning can happen anytime, anywhere, helping students juggle studies with careers and other personal commitments. This flexibility can be especially attractive to women, who are often primary caregivers to children and therefore have additional limitations on their time and where they can work. Obstacles to workforce participation are also obstacles preventing learning and upskilling.

By foregrounding asynchronous, accessible learning, STEM courses delivered online can empower more women to study while balancing professional and personal obligations.

Offering stackable and modular content

Short introductory courses in STEM subjects, such as AI for Everyone and Programming for Everybody, allow students with no background in a field to acquire new skills quickly. For example, the Google IT Support Professional Certificate opens a door to entry-level roles in IT and is recognised by top-ranked colleges such as the University of London and Northeastern University. Both of these universities offer credit towards an online bachelor’s degree for learners who complete the programmes. This stackability and modularity can give women without STEM qualifications a scaffolded pathway towards earning them.

Over 2.2 million learners have enrolled in one of Coursera’s Entry-Level Professional Certificates, equipping hundreds of thousands of women with the skills needed to take advantage of high-growth career opportunities.

Creating safe spaces

Research from the University of Cambridge shows that women are two and a half times less likely to ask questions in seminars than men. Online learning using resources such as video office hours and Slack integrations can help combat this challenge by providing an accessible space for women to communicate and collaborate with teachers and peers.

Scaling the reach of under-represented experts

Having inspiring female mentors teaching STEM courses can provide women with examples of what their future careers may look like in the field — and how learning can lead to real, tangible success. Online platforms can provide an opportunity to improve the reach and access to more diverse role models like these. The more this happens, the more women are likely to engage with STEM courses, and excel in them.

We’re already seeing that implementing these pedagogical best practices translates into female uptake of STEM courses. In 2021, Emirati women invested in courses on probability and statistics (70,000 enrollments), data analysis (60,000), and machine learning (50,000). Seeking the skills that will also prepare them to narrow the UAE’s leadership gender gap, top courses among UAE women in 2021 also included communication (110,000 enrolments), leadership and management (100,000), and entrepreneurship (80,000).

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While increased access to education cannot alone solve workplace participation disparities, these trends will help to drive increased skills proficiency and economic competitiveness — both locally and regionally. In 2022, we will continue collaborating with institutions to harness the power of online learning to engage women in STEM subjects and careers. Doing so will help to drive a more equitable, innovative, prosperous future for the UAE — and the world.