FIREFIGHTING: A Challenge Exclusively for Girls!

Despite efforts to promote diversity, the gender gap in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Methematics) and particularly in ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) positions remains an important issue in Europe. Only 1 in 3 STEM graduates is a woman, and women make up only 17% of ICT specialists, earning almost 20% less than men. The industry currently has only 22% of tech roles occupied by women, indicating that there is still much work to be done to achieve gender parity in the industry. Women in tech roles are underrepresented in key areas, particularly in DevOps, Cloud, Cybersecurity and others. These roles are likely to have high demand and impact in the future. The gender gap in tech roles is also lower than that of tech companies overall, which is likely to worsen in the future. Addressing this gap is crucial to creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce in tech by attracting more women in the fields of STEM and ICT.

Recognizing this paneuropean and international problem, the role of organizations like the Cyprus Computer Society is to contribute with innovative approaches to bridge the existing gap and provide girls from their early ages opportunities to explore the fascinating and employability-reach field of STEM and ICT. One such approach is the Firefighting Challenge organized within the framework of Robotex Cyprus that is designed exclusively for girls. The idea behind the challenge is that there are a number of fires (represented by lighted candles) in an area and each team consisting between 2 and 5 girls are determined to design, assemble and program a robot to distinguish these fires within a limited amount of time. Depending on the number of fires they put off the teams win points with the winner being the one with the maximum points.

Learn more about the Robotex MRC 2024 competition here and see the rules for Girls Firefighting and other challenges.

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Sources: Eurostat European Commission. (2020). Women in Digital: The Time is Now! Retrieved from European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) - Women in the ICT sector European Commission: Women in Digital Scoreboard 2021

Femme Forward EU Project: https://femmeforward.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/D2.1_9-piloting-scenarios.pdf