International Women’s Day: Join our Instagram Live discussion

WorldSkills is celebrating International Women’s Day with an Instagram Live discussion between #WomenInSkills, taking place on 8 March at 14:00 GMT on WorldSkills IG profile.

WorldSkills Champions Trust representatives for Asia, Africa, and the MENA region, will share their stories and perspectives as women in spaces traditionally dominated by men, as well as what this year’s theme #InspireInclusion means to them.

Shweta Ratanpura, a graphic designer from India, will facilitate the session. In a country where the notion of success is restricted to a handful of careers such as medicine or engineering, Shweta’s choice to become a designer was often questioned and undermined. She now works for Microsoft, one of the largest software companies in the world.

She will be accompanied by Justina Ashiyana, a joiner from Namibia whose determination and passion for her skill helped advance her career, overcoming discrimination and criticism from within her society. And by Yousra Assali, an Engineer in Electronics from Morocco, who hopes to inspire other women in the Middle East and Africa to pursue careers in the technical field.

A recent report by the OECD says that, while girls are generally more likely to perform better at reading, mathematics, and science than boys, high-performing girls do not continue investing in developing skills in areas such as mathematics and science, when compared to high-performing boys.

Often exacerbated by the gender stereotypes that girls face at home, in school and within their communities, the report suggests that young girls tend to underperform in mathematics because they generally have less self-confidence than boys in their ability to solve mathematics or science problems. This translates into an underrepresentation of women in STEM-related fields after leaving school, gender disparities in the labour market, and lower wages.

What drove Shweta, Justina, and Yousra to pursue their passion and succeed against all odds?

Join them in our Instagram Live discussion for #IWD2024 to learn how they overcome the daily challenges of being a woman in skills. Share your story with them live to collectively challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, build equitable spaces, and seek out inclusion.

Together, we can all #InspireInclusion!

Update

The session recording is now available. Watch the full IG Live session for #IWD2024 on our Instagram account.