G4GRETA returns to foster female students’ entry into STEM jobs

ROME (ITALPRESS) – Study computer science and coding to promote environmental sustainability and female entrepreneurship. This is the recipe of G4GRETA (“Girls for Green Technology Applications”), a training program that La Sapienza University of Rome, EY and EY Foundation are supporting to help female high school students in Rome and Lazio build soft skills in an employment scenario dominated by the advent of AI (artificial intelligence). Technology is a constantly developing and indispensable resource these days for the world’s economies, provided, however, that it is used with a sustainable and inclusive ethos. The advent of AI, in fact, threatens to increase the gender gap especially in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) sector since today most science and technology professions still remain covered by professional men.To counter this phenomenon, the G4GRETA project, now in its third edition, proposes to start again from the education of adolescent girls to create awareness around technical-scientific subjects and support equal opportunities. A path that brings them closer, through hands-on workshops in computer programming and green app development, to degrees and study paths associated predominantly with the male universe, but which today require to be undertaken as soon as possible without gender distinctions.Rethinking inclusive technology: 55 percent of STEM university enrollment involves women, but AI speaks to the male universe Educating young women is an urgent need for the country to boost female employment and reduce the gender gap in technology fields, especially those that have just emerged thanks to the advent of artificial intelligence.As the International Monetary Fund explained in its paper “Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work,” 40 percent of global employment is exposed to artificial intelligence, with the risk that these new technologies will amplify inequality. This is a likely projection when one considers that women are not only underrepresented in the labor market in general, but in the STEM area in particular: although they make up 55 percent of matriculated students in Italian universities, access to degree programs in this field is still a predominantly male prerogative. Two-thirds of the students are men, as are more than three-quarters of the teaching staff (the male share of professors and researchers reaches 75 percent for computer science and 80 percent for industrial engineering).In addition, according to the December 2023 Women’s Employment Report of the Chamber of Deputies, the low participation of the female population in the world of work is also attributable to the low share of degrees in STEM subjects among female graduates. This is a missed appointment for so many female workers, considering that the greatest employment opportunities mainly concern high-skilled profiles, particularly related to the area of cybersecurity, analytics and data management.In general, according to recent estimates by EY, the project’s main partner, labor demand in Italy will grow overall until 2023 and, at the level of individual occupations, according to the predictive model there will be a significant change in labor demand affecting about 80 percent of occupations in correspondence with the increasingly widespread adoption of generative AI and advanced robotics solutions. The problem of labor shortage, labor shortage, therefore, will tend to increase, both as a function of the net increase in demand and as a function of the transformation of demand for most occupations. Also expected is an increase in mismatch, the mismatch between the skills required by employers and those possessed by those leaving education or the labor force. In particular, the mismatch index of graduates entering the labor market will grow pronouncedly for STEM disciplines. The accelerated advancement of technological innovation and the lack of timely skills upgrading contribute to the increase in mismatch even for those who have already acquired specific technical skills, which are at risk of obsolescence.What is G4GRETA: a specific program for future female workers G4GRETA is an educational project conceived by Paola Velardi, professor of Computer Science at La Sapienza University of Rome, and promoted by the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Computer, Automatic and Management Engineering at La Sapienza.Inaugurated in 2023, at its first edition G4GRETA received the support of the Lazio Region and Lazio Innova, an in-house company that invests in research and facilitates technology transfer by funding innovative projects. Since its first edition, G4GRETA crosses three major themes: ecological transition, digital revolution and gender empowerment. The goal of the project is to enthuse as many girls as possible about the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) by showing how these technologies are highly supportive of environmental sustainability.During the first two editions of the educational project, G4GRETA involved about 400 female students from schools in Rome and Lazio to join the project. “Italy is a country lagging far behind on digital precisely because girls do not enroll in computer courses,” explains G4GRETA creator Professor Paola Velardi, “Only 10-15 percent of girls today have computer skills. This is a figure that slows down the economic development of our country and is also a problem for women, because in this way they are not able to access well-paid and highly sought-after positions in the labor market, especially in this period dominated by technology and AI. “Breaking down the prejudices that still discourage girls from entering STEM professions is a necessity not only for a gender issue, but also to increase the country’s competitiveness and increase female employment. In this context, it is crucial to strengthen the confidence of schoolgirls in their STEM skills so as to orient them toward these studies before they choose university,” comments Tiziana dell’Orto, Secretary General, EY Foundation.The intent of the project is also to create the conditions for girls still in their teens to have the opportunity to approach STEM subjects without prejudice, changing their perceptions about computer science and their views on technical and scientific subjects, being able to confront role models from whom they can learn. Among them is Sharon Di Nepi, partner in EY’s Technology Consulting and Digital Engineering Italy Leader: “We were all immediately enthusiastic about the project,” she comments, “which represents a paradigm shift from the initiatives typically carried out by companies with short-term goals to address gender gap issues. By targeting very young girls, with G4Greta we are creating the basis for generating a new awareness of the potential of ICT subjects while also setting the conditions for a structural improvement in the presence of women in scientific faculties and consequently in the technological professions so in demand today. “The 2024-2025 edition of G4GRETA will start next November 12, and dozens of schools have expressed interest in promoting the initiative among their female students in Lazio. They range from coding principles and increased awareness on environmental issues, and then activities to strengthen soft skills, such as team building, team working, public speaking, self promoting and social networking. “As a result of the project, all participants have to make green apps that help environmental sustainability,” explains Paola Velardi.During the initiative, in fact, participants learn how to design mobile apps and create, with the help of tutors and university professors from La Sapienza, prototype apps inspired by green issues. From the brainstorming phase, to the creation of an app prototype, to the promotion of the project via public speaking and social reel, all the work done by the participants is aimed at fostering female self-determination: the girls are called upon to showcase their ideas in a contest at the end of the project in front of a jury of companies, public bodies and associations in the area. Three teams will be awarded, as in each edition, for developing the most innovative, sustainable and inclusive apps.

– EY press office photo -(ITALPRESS).