Has there been any improvement in increasing the number of girls and women in the field of science and technology? This is the question that all countries of the world, including South Africa, will need to answer at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) starting in New York on tomorrow Tuesday, February 22.

South African delegation to this most important annual meeting of the UN on the status of women will be led by Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, Lulu Xingwana supported by Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini.

The CSW will this year focus on access and participation of women and girls in education, training, science and technology, including the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work

At the plenary session of the CSW, Minister Xingwana will present a statement outlining progress and challenges in increasing aceess and participation of women in the field of natural sciences, engineering, mathematics and information technology in South Africa.

South Africa will also hold a special session at the CSW on Wednesday February 23 to present its initiative aimed at providing girls with access to the world of work to enable them to take up scarce careers required by the economy. The initiative termed Techno Girls is supported by UNICEF and currently implemented in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Western Cape.

The programme recruits about 4000 girls currently studying Mathematics and Science at grades 9-12. During the school holidays, these girls are placed in various companies, job shadowing business leaders to gain first hand insight into the buzz and excitement of running a big corporate and how various operational divisions co-operate to make a company to function effectively. The programme maintains an exclusive focus on careers in the fields of Maths, Science and Technology.

In addition to the main theme of science and technology, the CSW will also attend to the global challenge of violence against women and children. South Africa will showcase its Thuthuzela programme which provides integrated services to survivors of sexual violence under the leadership of the National Prosecuting Authority. Progress made in establishing Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences units within the Police Service to respond to effectively to crimes against women and children will also be presented.

At the invitation of the UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe, Minister Xingwana will (on Thursday February 24) participate in a high-level consultation on measures that should be taken to reduce vulnerability of women and girls to HIV and promote sexual and reproductive health rights. Due to gender inequality, women continue to be disproportionately infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. South Africa will showcase the progress it is making in reducing the spread of HIV infection and in implementing the biggest AIDS treatment progra