Speaker, the ANC-led government has been consistent, with the number of laws and policies it has enacted, in empowering women to improve the quality of their lives and open up their space so that their voices can be heard on matters concerning their lives.
Last Friday, 4 November 2011, the launch of the Techno Girl project by the Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities was another step further in ensuring that we redress gender inequality and invest in the future of the young girls in the country.
The programme, a partnership between the government and the private sector, seeks to empower young girls with scarce and critical skills, such as mathematics, science, engineering and technology. It exposes them to the world of work and gives them skills that are desperately required by the economy.
The project aims to place 4 000 disadvantaged girls in structural job- shadowing programmes in participating provinces, and expose them to the world of work, so that they can make informed career choices. The girls are therefore placed in an organisation whose core business activities are focused on scarce career fields and occupations where women are underrepresented, such as engineering, construction, forensics and science.
Such programmes equip young girls with skills, confidence and self- assurance to create a better life for themselves and contribute qualitatively to their communities. I thank you. [Applause.]