A group of young girls from various schools gathered in person and virtually for a meaningful hands-on workshop called Africa’s Girl child conference, organized by Good governance Africa and sponsored by Anglo American, Telkom and Boston media. The conference was symbolically held on International Day of the Girl Child as a commemoration to progress gender equity in industries which are still male dominated. During the vibrant dialogue, it was revealed that girls still saw mining as an industry of men doing physically and hard work underground and a danger to society due to illegal mining.
Inspiring and empowering girls to access mining, ICT and wildlife sectors
Speaking at the end of the dialogue, Milisa Mbutyu from Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School No.2 in Benoni said; “My takeaway from this dialogue are words from Ms Linda Vilakazi (Project sponsor) when she said we must always be open to new possibilities. I cannot wait to be in the mining sector and continue to pave the way for another generation of young women to come after me.”
With female representation at only 12% in mining, 37% in ICT and 11% in wildlife, ensuring that girls are inspired and empowered with information on these industries is important.
