The dire shortage of specific industry skills and the growing demand for these talents mean that the industry has the opportunity to meet the capacity gap by encouraging more women to join the ICT sector. This is the view of Portia Thokoane, Chief Human Capital Officer at DFA, who suggests that giving opportunities to women will mean that there are more skills available to close the deficit.

“Despite the progress made in terms of including more women in the sector, it is still viewed as a predominantly male industry. We need to inspire girls from a young age to consider a career in ICT by encouraging them to select STEM subjects and to shift the general, gender-based perceptions about a career in this field,” she says.