"We need to increase the participation of women to ensure that we have diverse teams so that these diverse teams can come up with more diverse and more inclusive solutions."
That's what Dr. Thulile Khanyile, a scientist and social entrepreneur in South Africa, had to say during a government webinar Wednesday to celebrate International Women's Day and to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields, the New York Times reports.
According to a United Nations report, only 35% of STEM students in higher education are women.
"We use science, technology engineering, and mathematical products on a daily basis, so we cannot exclude the general public from participating in STEM," Khanyile tells the Times.
She says there's a need for more women to "speak about the subject matters and the solutions that they are bringing."
Dr. Mamoeletsi Mosia, the managing director of South Africa's Agency for Science and Technology Advancement, agrees.
"We need to talk to the parents, we need to talk to society, and that's where we start educating society in general," she tells the Times.
Zakithi Mkhize, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, tells the Times
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