Why Canada’s digital economy rests in the hands of our girls
Posted February 11, 2017 6:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s next federal budget will likely include significant investments to bolster Canadian innovation and advance our digital economy. But if we genuinely want to move the needle on tech and innovation, we need to do something else as well: find ways to encourage more girls to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), the building blocks of all innovative economies.
Canada’s digital economy contributes more than $70 billion annually to our GDP, but there is a significant and growing skills gap in these fields. Today, women represent only 25 per cent of the STEM workforce — a number that has held fairly steady over the past 30 years, even as the digital economy has grown by leaps and bounds.
As a nation, Canada is on the brink of a major workforce shortage in STEM fields, and yet we continue to miss the mark on engaging half our population. And while government and corporate leaders recognize the economic case for gender parity in STEM, the focus and investment aren’t where they need to be. Canada is at a digital crossroads and the next federal budget can put us on the right track.
For more on this story, visit Macleans.ca.
