Motivations and barriers for girls and women in STEM and ICT domains

Author(s)/editor(s)

Aurelia Bradețchi, Andrei Ciobanu, Dumitru Slonovschi

In the Republic of Moldova, in the Information and Communication Technology sector (ICT), girls and women are underrepresented on the workforce market. They occupy 31% of the jobs in the sector and 19% of digital professions. Gender inequities on the workforce market in the ICT sector are obvious, but declining.

The goal of the survey is to understand what are the barriers and main factors contributing to the fact that girls take decisions in favor of STEM and ICT professions and, subsequently to choose a job corresponding to the Bachelor’s degree. In the survey were analyzed existing statistical data and was carried out a survey among 362 girls aged 14-18 from 5 administrative-territorial units: Balti municipality, Cahul, Calarasi, Causeni, Ungheni districts. Also were conducted 15 case studies in which were carried out 67 in depth interviews with the girls and the persons who could influence the decision of the young women in choosing a career in STEM or IT.

This Survey was elaborated by Magenta Consulting for the Association for the Development of Information Technologies EDUCAT in partnership with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women) and financed by Sweden.